Scarlet Strings of Love

Chapter 28: geheime

"He who has eyes to see and ears to listen may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore."
-- Sigmund Freud

ORANGE's POINT OF VIEW

It's the new school year. Second year students na kami at malakas ang pakiramdam ko na maraming mangyayari ngayong taon.

I opened the door of the classroom of my first subject and sat near the front. I looked around and I stopped when I met Laurence. He smiled at me. He stood up and moved to the empty seat next to me, a big smile on his face. I suddenly felt hot. Ang init pala sa classroom na 'to.

"So, we're classmates," he said.

"Yeah," I said in a monotone voice. "How unfortunate."

"You don't actually think that."

"And who are you to decide?" I asked, laughing. He just smiled at me. I stared at his eyes for a moment and then I coughed and avoided his gaze.

"Nga pala," he said, getting my attention. "I heard one of your friends is coming here today."

"And?" I asked.

"Wala naman. Just wanted to know if they also know about it."

"About what?" I asked.

"This drama among us," he said and gestured to me and him.

I clenched my jaw. I feel restless already. I looked away and busied myself with other things.

"You could say that."

We were enveloped in silence.

"I spoke with Regina and Emman during summer," he said. "And I told them you know something we don't."

My eyes widened in shock.

"Why did you do that?" I asked. The man just shrugged.

"You never told me I couldn't tell anyone about that," he said. "And no, I didn't tell them what I found out when vacation started."

I clenched my fists. That's right, he said he found out something during vacation. He never got to say what it was because I told him to be quiet about it, but goddamnit I feel like I'm going crazy dahil hindi ko alam kung ano yung alam niya. Have the roles been reversed here?

Or is this just a trap? Is he baiting me para sabihin ko sa kaniya kung ano gusto niya malaman? He actually doesn't know anything right?

"I can see by your face that you think I'm deceiving you, but no," Laurence said. He leaned in and whispered to my ear.

"I know that Carlos is your friend." I looked at him in shock. He was just smiling, but to me it was almost a smirk. Almost like he's mocking me. Telling me that no secret can ever be kept hidden.

"I also know that he became close to Anne before the incident happened," he said. "What happened between them, or what didn't happen, that I don't know."

He leaned slightly, "But so far, si Carlos ang common denominator natin. Judging by your expression, you know that I can just find him and ask him about what happened to Luxus and Anne."

"You wouldn't," I said, glaring at him. We stared at each other for a few seconds, silence enveloping us until he broke it.

He gave me a reassuring smile, "For your sake, I wouldn't."

The professor finally arrived and that cut our conversation short, but I can barely focus on the lesson because I keep thinking about what Laurence told me. How did he find out? Carlos wasn't studying in this school and when Austin introduced Carlos to them I don't think kasama siya doon. Nakilala ko lang si Carlos n'ong bumisita siya sa school.