/34/
A Crook's Facade

---

THERE WAS a pause of confusion in Mayer's expression as he stared back at Ann, the creases on his forehead more evident.

"A-Ann??" He stuttered, confused as he glanced at the senator, and at his own father.

"Oh great!" The senator huffed proudly, bellowing his stomach that was so big it seemed as if the buttons of his polo were going to pop. "Magkakilala na pala kayo. This will make things easier."

"Mayer, my son, sit down." Mr. Cortez said gleefully, pulling Mayer down by the arm until he plopped into the vacant seat that Ann was eyeing earlier.

"You remember our little... talk last night... yes?" Tanong ng ama sa binata, patting him on his shoulder.

"Y-Yes father, but you didn't specify who I'll be marrying." Mayer cleared his throat, glancing at Ann whose eyes were now fiery with anger.

"Yes yes, but you two know each other." Sambit ng matanda, his eyes glinting curiously. "So tell me, are you two friends?" He asked, with a hint of eagerness in his tone.

Mayer glanced at Ann for a moment, opening his mouth to speak. But the young lady was faster than him.

"Actually, we're colleagues." She said firmly, her father glaring at her.

"Ah! That's a start then. The more you get to know each othe—"

"I'm sorry Mr. Cortez, but I'm not agreeing to this arrangement." The young Lobris heir said harshly, glancing then at her father whose face was now crumpled up in rage.

"Mayer, Father." Ann greeted them with pursed lips before standing up and walking away.

"Annaliese Gracielle Lobris!" The senator thundered, but Ann did not look back — striding directly towards the restaurant's exit.

"Forgive me, Marcuz, my daughter is a bit... headstrong." Iritadong sambit ni senator Alejandro.

Akmang tatayo na sana ang matanda nang biglang nagsalita ang binata.

"I'm sorry but I don't think I can say yes to this arrangement either." Mayer said politely, standing up from his seat.

"Excuse me???" 'Di-makapaniwalang tanong ng kaniyang ama, both men watching Mayer push his seat back into place.

"I'm rejecting the arrangement, father. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll try to talk to your daughter, senator." Sambit ng binata, leaving the two men in their seats, too stunned to speak.

"Ann!" Sigaw ni Mayer pagkalabas nito ng restaurant, chasing the young girl and reaching out for her arm.

"What?!" Inis na sigaw ng dalaga, turning around to face the young man her dad wanted to marry.

"I'm sorry," hingal na sabi ng binata, shaking his head before glancing up to Ann.

"Hindi ko alam na ikaw pala yung sinasabi ni papa. I thought it would be a random girl that I didn't know."

"Well wala nang mababago 'yon, hindi ba?" Ann snapped, her face heating up in anger. "You already agreed to your father in the first place! Kaya ka ba lapit ng lapit ha?? Maybe you secretly knew and now you're just pretending you had no idea so you could earn my sympathy! Well guess what—"

"I backed out." Mayer said quietly, causing Ann to flinch.

"What??" She frowned, blinking rapidly.

"I rejected the arrangement, Ann."

Ann let out a scoff, not believing a word that he was saying. But when Mayer said no more, Ann's sarcastic smile soon faded.

"But why??" She demanded. "Dahil lang ba umayaw ako?"

"Because I care for you!" Mayer exclaimed in frustration, prompting Ann to shut up.

"I don't want you to get caught up in something you'll regret for the rest of your li—argh." Mayer groaned. Napahilamos ito ng mukha, habang nakatitig lamang ng tahimik ang dalaga.

"Ann, 'di pa ba halata?" Frustrated na tanong ng binata, running a hand through his hair as he paced around the ground, Ann slowly starting to understand.

Napatigil na ang binata, exhaling before finally turning to the young girl.

"I like you." He said quietly. "I like you a lot. Okay?"

Silence.

"And I don't want you to spend the rest of your life with me dahil napilitan ka lang." Tahimik na sambit nito, staring right into Ann's eyes.

A lot of different thoughts were running inside the young girl's head as she stared right back at the boy before her.

"If you liked me, then why did you agree to be arranged married to a girl you didn't know?" Ann asked quietly.

"Ann, I had no choice." Mayer responded earnestly. "I did it for my father—for my family."

Napabuntong-hininga ang dalaga, looking down on the ground. Now that she knew Mayer did it for his family, she couldn't help but feel perplexed and guilty for ruining what could have been his possible future.

Finally glancing up, Ann returned her gaze at the boy before her.

"Mayer," tahimik nitong sabi.

She then stepped forward, and reached for both his hands, holding them inside her palms. Mayer looked at her questioningly.

"Thank you," she said, giving him a small smile. Mayer Cortez had further earned her respect. She looked at him with high regard, awed that there were still gentlemen such as him.

"In that case," Mayer grinned, removing his hands from Ann's grasp, and holding her hands instead. "Would join me for coffee? Later afternoon?"

Ann's smile wavered a little. "Oh Mayer, I can't." She shook her head.

"Ha? But it's a Sunday?"

"I promised my groupmates we'll have a meeting today." Pagsisinungaling ng dalaga, thinking of the three boys back at Castillo High who were probably looking for her, waiting for Ann to signal the start of their plan.

"And besides, nakita mo ba yung message ni Rein sa class gc?" Ann said quickly. "May important meeting daw tayong Fortitude ngayon."

"Ay oo nga pala." Mayer frowned. "Yeah, I wonder what's that about." He muttered before shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh well. Tara, sabay na tayong bumalik?" The young man smiled invitingly to Ann who couldn't resist the chivalrous gesture.

"Sure."

And with that, Mayer placed a gentle hand on the back of Ann, guiding her towards his car.

"You still owe me a coffee date." Ngisi ni Mayer sa dalaga na natawa sa kaniyang statement.

"Alright. Ikaw magbabayad ah." She replied teasingly. Deep inside, Ann wondered if this was it, if Mayer was different from all the other past suitors of hers who only loved her because of her family's old money.

There was a hint of doubt within the young Lobris heir, but Ann merely shrugged it off. She would have to deal with her feelings later.

Right now, she needed to get back to Castillo High, and catapult their plan into action.

---

"Presi, bakit mo ba kami pinapunta dito? Weekend kaya!"

"Oo nga, Sunday naman ah!"

These were the clamors of the students of 10 - Fortitude by the time both Ann and Mayer had arrived at their respective homeroom.

Tanging ang classroom lang nila ang maingay sa buong hallway, with everyone antsy and itching for Rein to start the class meeting.

"Airplane incoming!" Javier shouted, throwing a paper airplane into the air like a kid.

"Fucking finally." Rein, who was leaning against the teacher's table in front of the room, muttered under his breath when he finally saw Ann enter through the door.

Mas lalong nairita lamang ang binata nang napansing kasabay nito si Mayer — whose hand seemed to be gently resting on top of Ann's back.

"Late na nga sa plano, lumalandi pa." He scoffed sarcastically, dahilan para lumingon sa kaniya si Jarrell.

"Ha? 'No yun par?" Jarrell asked curiously. Napailing lamang ang binata at saka tumayo ng maayos, crossing his arms together and staring hard at the class.

At this intimidating posture, the whole class finally settled down. They knew that when Rein had this expression and stance, the young man meant business.

"Okay Fortitude, all ears." He said firmly, not throwing at least one glance at his rival.

"Tumawag ako ng meeting dahil may importante tayong kailangang pag-usapan." Seryosong sambit ng binata, staring at each and every student who was looking up at him from their seats.

"There's a thief here in our room, and he stole something very valuable and important."

"Like what? A flash drive?" Inez Montoya, a girl with long, flawless, straight dark hair similar to those shown in shampoo commercials, snorted, checking her nails airily. "If this has anything to do with the Writers' Schism case then I'm not interested. And I definitely can't be suspected since I'm not a contestant so I can just go—"

"It's a wallet." Rein said in a matter-of-fact tone, eyeing Inez, which was enough to make her shut up.

"Quinn's wallet to be exact." He cleared his throat, shifting his feet snd broadening his shoulders. "It was last seen here in this very classroom,  containing a few thousand bills. But what's important are the cards — his driver's license and ATM card."

"Now that you guys know what's been stolen, I think you can tell what we're about to do." He nodded, now walking towards the back of the table and placing both hands on top of it.

"Magkakaroon tayo ng inspection, headed by me and Quinn. You'll be handing out everything in your pockets, and leaving your bags and wallets here in this room. Uunahin namin kayong kapain, at ilalagay niyo lahat ng gamit na nasa bulsa niyo dito sa teacher's table." Rein instructed, flexing his arm and patting the wooden table.

"After which, you'll go out of the room and wait. Leave your bags and things since we'll be inspecting every item to ensure that Quinn's wallet would be found." The president of the class said strictly before straightening his posture.

"Am I clear?" Tanong nito, raising an eyebrow at his fellow classmates who nodded quietly.

"Alright Forti, form two lines." Tango ni Rein, glancing at Quinn who was right beside him. "Quinn, kapain mo yung isang linya, ako dito."

Quinn nodded diligently in reply as the class fell into two lines. Ang nasa unahan sa pila ay si Jarrell at si Ann who tried their best not to glance at one another — everything going according to plan so far.

"Shouldn't I and the other officers help in the inspection, Maccio?" Ann asked stiffly and loudly, making sure that their other classmates had heard it.

"It's best if Quinn and I are the only ones inspecting, Lobris." Rein responded as he slowly checked the pockets of Ann, his face slightly heating up. "Sa ngayon ay suspect ang lahat, pati na rin ang mga officers. And that includes you." He said in an implying tone.

"Enchanting." Ann replied sarcastically before placing her phone and handkerchief on the teacher's table and stepping out of the classroom.

"Hey Presi, pwede bang umalis habang hinihintay kayong matapos sa inspection?" Tanong naman ni Jarrell habang kinakapa ito ni Quinn.

"Pinapauwi kasi ako ni papa—"

"It's fine." Sagot ni Rein. "You can all do something else while waiting for the inspection to end. Just be sure to be back at 11:30 a.m. Anyone who won't be back by then will automatically be highly-suspected." He warned, this time checking the pockets of Javier.

"Ayun!" Jarrell grinned as Quinn finished inspecting him. "Thanks, presi!" Sambit nito, gesturing a goodbye and walking out of the room whilst whistling a happy tune.

"Uhm, Rein?" A quiet voice asked, and Rein glanced up to see that Tyra, who was in the first line, slightly raising her hand.

"Yes, Tyra?"

"There are five absentees in today's emergency meeting. Carissa Buenaventura, Sera Madrigal, Yshee Navidad, Queenie Gintuan, and Yenna Alonzo. What are we going to do?" Tyra reported with a nervous tone, checking off their names in the absentee list in her hand. Clearly, the young girl had her guard up — anxious with every interaction she had with one of the six who had accused her just yesterday.

Rein's lips formed into a tight line as he stared at Tyra who flinched under his gaze.

"They're primary suspects as of now." He said grimly before turning his head towards the door.

"Lobris!" Rein called out. "Earth to VP!"

"What??" Ann asked in annoyance, appearing by the doorway and folding her arms.

"Get the names of the five absentees from Tyra and look for them. Makakarating kay Professor Airyn na hindi sila pumunta dito sa emergency meeting na pinatawag ko. That makes them prime suspects so you better inspect their dormitories too. If you can't find them, we'll relay this case to the O.C.P." He instructed Ann who raised an eyebrow at him.

"Akala ko ba suspect rin ako? Bakit mo 'ko inuutusan ngayon?" Iritadong tanong ng dalaga.

"Not anymore you aren't." Rein answered smugly, causing a few of their classmates to chuckle.

"Ugh," Ann rolled her eyes in irritation before turning around and walking away, making it seem like she was going to follow Rein's order, when in reality, she was heading right towards the girls' dormitory, just like what they had planned.

"Took you long enough." Jarrell greeted her outside of the Junior High School Building as the two of them walked towards the girls' dormitory, the campus grounds seemingly empty and silent as everyone seemed to be visiting their families for the weekend.

"Raming satsat ni Maccio eh, natutuwa ata sa pangbabadtrip sa'kin." Ann muttered as they marched towards the dormitory building, hoping for the best in their attempt to break-in in Tyra's dormitory.

"Alam mo naman 'yun," Ngisi ni Jarrell. "Graduate 'yon sa Bachelor of Science in Pang-Aasar, Major in Ann Lobris. Galing diba?"

"Oh, please." Irap nanaman ng dalaga as they entered the dormitory, climbing up the staircase.

"Anyway, stick to the plan, J." Ann said in a serious tone. "Just make it seem like you're trying to look for Queenie here in the dorm if a girl finds you. If you see anyone about to enter Room 311, you tap on your tracker alright?" Bulong nito kay Jarrell na tumango naman kaagad.

"It'll automatically send a message to Queenie's phone," Sambit ng dalaga, waving Queenie's cellular phone in her hand. "Alerting me to get the fuck out, of course."

"Bilisan mo ha." Jarrell said worriedly. "Limitado lang ang charming skills ko pag nagkataon!"

"Oo na," Ann muttered as they reached the third floor of the dormitory, heading towards Room 311, the dormitory room of Roelle Silvia, Louise Espejo, and Tyra Galvino herself.

Agad na hinila ni Ann ang hairpin mula sa kaniyang buhok at lumuhod sa harapan ng pintuan, with Jarrell blocking anyone from seeing Ann pick the door's lock.

"Good luck," Jarrell whispered with a thumbs up as Ann opened the door, slipped inside the room, and locking it from the inside.

---

"Hurry up, Quinn." Rein muttered under his breath as he pretended to inspect the bags of their classmates, just in case anyone would be peeking through the window of their classroom.

Sa kasalukuyan, ang dalawang binata na lamang ang natira sa kanilang homeroom. Natapos na rin nilang iinspect lahat ng kanilang mga kaklase na ngayon ay hinihintay na lang na matapos nilang tignan ang mga bags at gamit nila.

Quinn immediately went to the teacher's table and looked for Tyra's phone that she had left along with the phones of their other classmates.

The case of Quinn's stolen wallet was a lie after all, merely just a ruse that they had made to try to inspect Tyra's phone and things, in an attempt to see whether or not these items would provide to them a clue, or better yet, evidentiary proof to support their claims that Tyra was the Writers' Schism culprit.

"Are you sure this is her phone?" Quinn whispered as he fiddled with a black iPhone 6 in his hands, using his basic hacking abilities to configure the password of their suspect.

"I'm sure." Rein said, glancing wearily out their classroom's window to ensure that none of their classmates who were in the hallway, were peeking in at them.

"I don't want to pressure you my friend, but time is of the essence." He added grimly, turning to Quinn.

Beads of sweat were now starting to form on Quinn's forehead as he concentrated heavily, a sigh of relief escaping from his mouth as he finally opened the phone.

"Okay, I've opened it." Quinn whispered in excitement, wiping the sweat using the back of his hand, and adjusting his glasses back in place.

"Good." Sambit ni Rein as he unzipped Tyra's bag, unearthing the school items inside it. "Check her messages and photos. There has to be some kind of clue."

"I am, I am." Quinn muttered nervously, scrolling frantically through the conversations on Tyra's messenger before switching to the gallery.

"Quinn," Rein said sharply, prompting Quinn to hide the phone in his pocket and check the bag nearest to him.

"Hey, Presi! Kakain lang kami sa labas ha? Balik rin kami." Richard, who had peeked in through the doorway, said, with Rein nodding as a response.

"Alright, thanks presi!" Richard said cheerfully before closing the door of their classroom once more.

"That was close," Rein sighed in relief as Quinn opened Tyra's phone once more.

"There's nothing suspicious here, Rein." Quinn said grimly, going back and forth between the phone's applications, even going as far as checking for any encrypted texts. There was none.

Rein then glanced at his watch. "Well then," he said in a serious tone. "We'll just have to hope that the others have found something more important than we have."

The phrase "more important" was an understatement on Ann and Jarrell's side as Ann searched through the whole dormitory room like a quiet mouse — even going as far as checking for any loose wooden boards on the floor or secret compartments that could be found anywhere.

She couldn't help herself, nasanay ang dalaga sa mga secret compartments na lagi niyang nababasa sa mga mystery novels, particularly in the Nancy Drew books.

As she closed the cabinet's doors, Ann turned around to survey the room with a frown.

Just like their dormitory, this dormitory also housed three ladies. The only difference was in the layout. Kung kina Ann ay may sari-sarili silang kwarto, dito ay dalawa lang ang bedroom sa dormitory room na ito.

One room had a bunk bed, good for two girls, and one room had one sole bed, perfect for one lady only.

Ann knew that this sole bedroom was Tyra's since she had observed that Tyra wasn't close with Roelle Silvia and Louise Espejo, Tyra's dormmates who were inseparable best friends; as well as the fact that in this room, there were occasional notebooks lying around — showcasing Tyra's familiar, perfect handwriting that made her the class secretary in the first place.

So it made sense to Ann that the room with a bunk bed was Roelle's and Louise's, while this sole bedroom was Tyra's.

As her eyes scanned the room, she took note of how Tyra's room was decorated. Next to the bed was a fancy chair with a cushioned seat that was leaning on the wall, right beside a window with white, light-weight curtains. On the floor was a blue and white rug that complimented the brown hues of the room.

"If I had a secret, where would I hide it?" Ann mumbled to herself, scrutinizing every piece of furniture in Tyra's room, trying to place herself in the shoes of a culprit with cruel intentions.

She then stared at the bed, noticing that it had heavy sheets and beddings carefully placed on it — sheets that were so long and thick that it almost touched the floor.

Ann frowned as she looked around the room. Walang airconditioner na makikita sa kwarto, kaya walang dahilan para magkumot ng makapal si Tyra.

"Bingo." Ann muttered, kneeling on the floor next to the bed and pulling up the thick comforters and beddings until she could finally see the empty space under one's bed.

The only difference was that Tyra's bed wasn't empty, just as what Ann had deduced.

There on the dusty floor was a small, brown, she box.

Agad na kinuwha ito ng dalaga, opening the cover with only the tips of her fingers — careful not to wipe away the dust so as to avoid any suspicion.

Pagkabukas nito ay makikita ang isang disposable burner phone sa loob, sitting there quietly, almost as if like a piece to the whole puzzle.

At this point in time, mabilis ang tibok ng puso ng dalaga, her fingers itching in anticipation as she picked up the device from the box. It was a good thing that burner phones didn't have any password as Ann quickly opened it, heading to the phone's messages.

Ann didn't need to look far as there was only one particular contact inside the phone.

The young girl's heart raced faster as she saw the name of the contact.

"M-Mayer?" She stuttered in surprise, opening the contents of their messages.

"September 21, 2016." Bulong ni Ann as she read the date of the first message in the disposable burner phone.

"This was sent days before the announcement of this year's Writers' Schism." She exclaimed in surprise, quickly covering her mouth as the realization dawned upon her.

September 21, 2016. 7:05 p.m.
Tyra: Bumili na ako ng burner. Just like you said.

September 21, 2016. 7:10 p.m.
Mayer: Good girl.

September 21, 2016. 7:11 p.m.
Tyra: But you better stick to the deal. Delete my photos. Please. I'll stick to the plan until the very end. Just delete the photos.

"Wait, what photos??" Kunot-noong tanong ng dalaga as she scrolled slowly to the next message.

September 21, 2016. 7:13 p.m.
These photos?
View photos.

Ann could feel her heart in her throat as she achingly opened the photos. By the time the digital pictures had loaded, the disposable phone almost slipped out from her own shaky hands.

"Oh my God." She gasped in horror, covering her mouth as she painstakingly stared at the pictures on the phone.

The photos were none other than Tyra's own nude photos, some photos of her alone, and some of her doing it with Mayer himself.

Gustong sumuka ng dalaga as she quickly exited the photos, tears forming at the edge of her eyes.

She slowly caught her breath, breathing hard and heavy with her eyes shut. Dahan-dahan ring binuksan nito muli ang kaniyang mga mata, glancing at the phone in her hand.

Time was ticking, and Ann needed to get through the other messages, as well as take photos of the important ones that could be of evidence.

"Suck it up, Lobris." She reprimanded herself, sucking a breath before checking the phone once more.

September 21, 2016. 7:15 p.m.
Tyra: Please, Mayer. I promise to do the plan. Just please don't post them.

September 21, 2016. 7:16 p.m.
Mayer: As you should, T. Because the moment you fuck up my chances of winning the Schism, is the moment your dirty, little secret is up on the net for the whole world to feast. And then everyone will know you aren't the good girl they think you are. And you wouldn't like that, wouldn't you? You naughty, naughty girl.

Mahigpit na hinawakan ng dalaga ang disposable burner phone as she gritted her teeth harshly.

Ann was seething in anger, her whole face heating up in a mixture of rage, betrayal and embarrassment — the respectable image of Mayer Cortez coming down on her like glass shattering on the hard floor.

He wasn't a gentleman like he made her believe and almost fell for. He was the culprit — a manipulative mastermind of a pervert who had Ann wrapped around him like a finger.

Tyra was merely just his pawn, and Ann never felt so wronged and fooled in her entire life.

---

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