COPULA TRILOGY: Her Vengeance

Frame #4: Roots of Suspicion

[Chapter Four: Roots of Suspicion]

A few weeks ago, my schedule and whole day only ran either in the office or at the headquarters. It's my job to be active and handle cases as much as possible, and now... having this so-called mission, more likely a task, got me to reminisce about my old life.

By this morning, starting this morning, everything seems to go back to when I was still a student.

Wake up early, take a bath, brush my teeth, put on my uniform, ready my things for school, and eat. That's a normal routine of every student every day; some of them may receive an allowance from their parents every month as well.

Their life, a student's life, is just normal. Study and graduate. Maybe get anxious about your grades too.

Ilang minuto muna ako nanatiling nakaupo sa kama at nakatulala sa kawalan; my mind is still on silent chaos.

Nang makuntento na ako ay umalis na ako sa kama. I fixed my uniform and hair before taking my bag again and heading outside. My long-sleeved uniform is tucked into my brown skirt, long enough to reach my knees. I wanted to cry. I definitely look horrible.

I entered the kitchen and saw my roommate eating her breakfast while staring at nothing. Too bad that I didn't get her name.

I grabbed the bottle of milk at the fridge and poured some in the glass. When I noticed that there were four more pieces of toasted bread on the table, I grabbed one and quickly ate it.

Kumuha pa ako ng isa at kinain agad 'yon.

"Tell the office to address the letters to you instead of bothering me." My roommate suddenly spoke.

I stopped chewing for a second. Tiningnan ko siya. "I wasn't aware about letters still existing in this place as a form of contact outside."

She just sighed and looked at me.

"What's inside it? "

I scoffed, nearly choking. Binaba ko muna ang kinakain ko at uminom ng gatas.

"None of your business." I ate the last piece of my bread and quickly drank my milk empty. Pagkatapos ay iniwan ko na siya sa kusina.

Nagmedyas ako sa may pintuan. From the corner of my eyes, I saw her exiting the kitchen as well. Bago pa siya makapagsapatos kasabay ko ay mabilis kong sinuot ang sapatos ko at tumayo. I grabbed the doorknob and opened the door a little, enough for me to pass through.

I looked at my roommate putting her socks on—I guess I should make a name for her; it's too dull to call her 'roommate.'

Nag-isip ako ng pangalan.

Stain.

The first thing that I saw on her was a blood stain. Maybe 'Stain' is a nice made-up name for her.

I slightly nod at myself.

It'll work.

I want to slap myself so I can come back to reality. I've never made up a nickname for a person, and I can't believe that my pain-in-the-ass roommate will be the first person to have it.

Hindi ko na siya hinintay pa at agad na akong lumabas ng dorm. A few female students making their way downstairs welcomed me. They all look neat and expensive. I should really glue in my head that this is an international school. Sobrang laki ng tuition, at depending sa itsyura ng dormitory, kasing presyo lang ata nito ang tuition fee. I don't need to know everything about the amount that I need to pay since the headmistress will cover it herself. That's the bright side of this mission.