Chapter 4 Confrontation

The next day when I arrived at school, I saw Derek, Desiree, and Third talking in front of the classroom doorway. What's their problem, and why are they talking in front of the classroom?

Derek noticed me, so he turned towards me and said something to the people he was talking to. They exchanged glances at me. I don't care about what they're discussing. I just want to enter the room through that doorway they blocking. I approached them since that's the only way in.

"Can we talk, Mandy?"

Derek greeted me.

He seemed serious, so I nodded and followed them wherever they were going. It appeared that we were going to talk on the rooftop as we climbed the stairs. Once we reached the rooftop, Third quickly checked the area and approached the students hanging out there.

"Could you all leave for a moment? We have something to discuss," he reprimanded the students.

They immediately complied without complaining. Impressive! Third wields quite a power. Everything he wants gets done because of his command, as if he owns the school. Once the students left, Third locked the rooftop door. Wait, something's not right. Why did they need to lock it when we were just going to talk? Am I in danger? Do they have something against me? Even if my thoughts about them were negative, I don't recall saying or doing anything offensive. I'm nervous because of what's going through my mind.

"Did you send those mails?" Desiree asked me in a sharp tone.

"What mails?" I asked back.

I didn't know what she was referring to. We didn't have any project that required me to send her a message.

"Don't pretend to be innocent," Desiree snapped at me.

I was taken aback by her shout. I glanced at Derek and Third, but they just stared at me, not reprimanding Desiree.

"That's not the case. What mail are you talking about? Stop shouting, I can hear you," I explained calmly.

Truth be told, I also wanted to shout at her and push her off the rooftop.

"The blackmail. The one from Jasmine. You used her name to threaten us," Desiree angrily told me.

"I didn't do that. In fact, I received that too," I explained again to her narrow-mindedness.

"Wait, you received it too?" Third interjected.

"Yes, it said in the letter why I didn't visit Jasmine's death anniversary last time. And it's about a sins that need to tell. And Derek is a cheater," I explained to them.

"I am not a cheater," Derek countered what I said.

"I don't trust you," Desiree added, referring to what I said.

I don't trust you either, you scheming woman. Right from the start, I knew you were a brown-noser.

"It's true, I didn't do it. Because I have nothing to gain from it. You should know we weren't close to Jasmine. She only included me in the group because I'm a scholar from her family. I'm even less close to Derek to know about the cheating." I explained extensively to their closed minds.

Dealing with them is really frustrating. They're like math formulas that are hard to understand, difficult to explain and cannot answer.

"I understand your point, Mandy," Derek said.

Finally, someone understood.

"Do you know who will do that?" Third asked.

"I don't know," I told them.

I really don't know. Do I look like detective Conan or Sherlock Holmes? How am I supposed to figure that out?

"We will stop this nonsense right now. But I will not tolerate this prank. I will find that person and make sure he or she will pay big time," Derek said.

Of course, his position as the future Student Council President is at stake if the cheating issue comes out. Third opened the rooftop door for us to go back in our classroom. Before we went down, Desiree gave me an evil glare. Please Derek tie your twin's crazy antics. Some people are just so angry at you for no reason. If I couldn't control myself, I'd probably pull her hair. She might not even have experienced a hair-pulling match yet and I will win with no sweat.

When we got back to the classroom, then the class started. I listened to our teacher and later on, I had volleyball practice. I'm such a hardworking person and student. After practice, I saw Desiree and Third, the couple, walking out of the gym. They took so long, it felt like they were in a movie. I want to push them so they will walk fast but of course that's only in my imagination. I just walked past them and headed home. I'm doubly tired today because of their confrontation this morning.

The next day, I entered the classroom and noticed that Derek wasn't there. Maybe he's sick. Oh no, I talked to him yesterday, what if I caught it from him? I'll drink calamansi juice later to counter it. That's what I do when I feel something strange in my body or even someone is sick, I drink something sour to hopefully prevent it. We practiced volleyball again and then I went home. I immediately searched for calamansi in our house and picked some. I mixed it with sugar and drank it. Of course, I gave some to my siblings too. What a good big sister I am.

The next day, I noticed that Derek and Desiree still weren't in class. Oh no, their illness seems contagious. I hope it's not COVID. My baby sibling might get affected if that's the case. I also noticed that Third came in late. He's a VIP for sure. Very important person but in an annoying way. After one subject, we had some free time because our teacher said she will go to the restroom. And Third approached me.

"Derek has been missing for more than 24 hours," he told me.

Some classmates who overheard were shocked. I was also surprised by the bad news.

"Is that why Desiree didn't come to class?" I asked him.

"Yes, and come with me to their house. Desiree has something to tell you," Third said and went back to his seat.

What could Desiree want to tell me? She's probably going to blame me again. Oh well, can't I just not go? This might be the day I'll end up punching Desiree. RIP my good image. Rest in peace my patience because it looks like it might run out today.

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This is the continue of Prologue:

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The ambulance I called arrived. The police came quickly too since I posted on Facebook to make it go viral. I didn't have Desiree's number, so I just tagged her. The police took me to the precinct to wait for my parents to pick me up. I sat in a room with chairs. After a while, an older police officer entered.

"Here you go, dear. Drink some water first. Can I ask you some questions while waiting for your parents?" he asked.

"Thank you, sure, go ahead," I replied and took a sip of water.

"Are you the girl who found the victim?" the police officer asked as he sat in the opposite chair.

"Yes," I answered.

"What's your name, dear?" the police officer asked again.

"Amanda Fuentes, sir," I politely responded.

"Do you know the victim?" he asked once more.

"Yes, he's my classmate," I answered again.

"Do you know that he's missing?" the police officer inquired.

"Yes, I just found out earlier. Through Third, he's our classmate and he sent me to Derek's house because Desiree, Derek's twin, wanted to talk to me," I explained at length.

"Why would Desiree want to talk to you?"

"She's accusing me of causing trouble for her twin."

"After you talked to her, what did you do?"

"Third dropped me off near an abandoned house so I could catch a jeepney to go home," I answered.

"Why are you being accused?"

"I don't know. I have no motive to do anything to Derek. We're not close. Out of the four of them, I only talked to Jasmine, and now that she's dead, they don't even acknowledge me. Jasmine was their friend, the one who died by suicide," I explained.

"Why do they treat you that way? Are you being blamed for Jasmine's death?"

"I don't know either. I haven't heard any rumors about that. If we're talking about motives, I had none."

"Are you close to Jasmine?"

"No, Jasmine is closer to Derek."

" Other than Derek, who was close to Jasmine?"

"Her ex-boyfriend, Third. They used to be together even on weekends. I saw it in Jasmine's posts before," I shared.

"Thank you for answering the questions. If we have more questions, can we talk to you again?" he asked.

"Of course," I said.

He stood up and left the room. I finished the water and my parents arrived. Though It was just my Papa because my siblings were home alone so they needed Mama to stay. We went home, and they were worried because the police called them. So they quickly got permission from their employers, who were Jasmine's parents. I had dinner and went to sleep. So much happened today that I quickly fell asleep from exhaustion.

The next day, Desiree and Third were blocking the classroom door again. Derek wasn't there yet. With no other way to go, I walked straight to the door.

"Can we talk?" Desiree asked.

Can I say no? Even though I didn't want to, I nodded. As usual, they went to the rooftop. Why does she always want to talk on the rooftop? Does it make her smarter? Just like before, Third acted like the king and shooed people away before closing the rooftop door. What's Third gaining from this?

"First, I am grateful for what you did for my twin."

I never thought I'd hear Desiree say that. It seems like what happened to her twin has had a big impact on her.

"And sorry for the way I behaved. I'm just stressed about my campaign and now the blackmail."

Is that how it should be? Is it okay to be rude and accusatory when you're stressed? Maybe for some people. But not for her I will disagree because she is just plain rude. She's just using excuses but the truth is that's her true nature.

"Please don't hate me or anything."

I smiled and nodded. I couldn't say anything.

"Thank you, Mandy. Bye!"

They left together, she and her dog boyfriend who always followed her. I was left there, not believing the fake of that girl. She doesn't know how much of a hypocrite she is.

After that day and also our volleyball practice, I received another blackmail message. I got nervous opening it, so I decided to open it at home. When I got home, I immediately opened the letter. Here's what it said:

'Dear Mandy,

My gosh, why did you have to save Derek? You should've just let him rot there.

By the way, I told you to expose your sin. See, Derek has been in a bad situation.

Ps. Me and Third back when we had a relationship. He got himself a third party. And that girl is no other than Desiree. That's why they been in relationship fast after I died

Your dead friend,

Jasmine.'

I'm one hundred percent sure that this isn't Jasmine. Not because she's dead, but because she doesn't write or talk like this. She was prim and proper, and I never heard her say 'My gosh'.

Whoever this blackmailer is, they don't know what they're doing and not truly know Jasmine. I hope they take the time to learn, because what they wrote now isn't scary at all. But back to the couple. Well, whatever Third and Desiree will do now, it's up to them. I'll just go to sleep and don't bother the couple.

The next day, I arrived at school early and noticed my classmates were more animated than usual. They were all staring at their cellphones. What are they watching? Did something go viral? I have no idea since I don't have a load. I leaned in to watch with one of my classmates who was watching. It was a video of Desiree and Third. Desiree was crying while Third was consoling her. The video's caption was 'the revelation'. I listened closely to what Desiree was saying in the video.

"I didn't mean to fall in love with Third while Jasmine and Third were in a relationship," she said, wiping her crocodile tears.

"I'm just a human," she continued.

"We're telling you guys this to clear our conscience," Third interjected.

I didn't bother finishing watching their nonsense. I didn't know there was a third party involved back then. I was probably just preoccupied with criticizing them in my thoughts.

What I dislike is their manipulation despite their wrongdoing. They're already at fault, yet they're saying 'I am just a human.' They should just apologize instead of gaslighting.