Corner Him

CH 29

The painful things in life can kill you, but the love of a man could literally impair your knees.

Wala kaming pasok ngayong araw kasi na-suspend. Ang tanging anunsyo lang ay may importanteng aktibidad na gagawin sa paaralan.

Napakagat-labi ako sa sakit ng gitnang parte ng mapuputing hita ko. I suppressed my moaned because Heinrich was on the other line of the phone call. He personally called me to inform me about the beach party later at night.. Habang si Alxeius naman ay nasa baba nagluluto ng tanghalian namin.

"Zy, what are you doing in Alxe's room?" usisa ni Heinrich sa kabilang linya ng tawag. "Ah, I forgot he's your partner in the project."

Napalunok ako kasi iba ang naaalala ko.
"Oo, may ginawa lang sa proyekto," dagdag ko. "Kaso wala na pala kaming tatapusin kasi nagbayad daw ang mom n'ya. I was mad Heinrich. Anong matututunan ko kung wala na pala kaming sasagutan."

Narinig ko ang tawa n'ya sa kabilang linya. "Kailan mo lang nalaman?" tipid na tanong n'ya.

"Ngayong umaga lang pagkagising." Totoong sagot ko. Ilang segundo s'ya hindi nagsalita sa kabilang linya. "And why you didn't tell me he's your bestfriend?" seryosong lintana ko.

"Are you mad at me too?"

"Hindi naman. Nagulat lang."

"Can I ask something crazy?" Natawa ako sa tanong n'ya. "I found it easy to ask you this on the phone," he added.

"Shoot." My smile faded immediately when he questioned me out of the blue.

"Do you like my best friend?" I refuse to answer him on the phone call. "I didn't mean to sound like an intruder about what's going on between you. But I'm hurt when he's hurt. It's just that we're like brothers. Last night we cornered him, the suspect. It happened suddenly, and Zy. Alxeius didn't miss the chance to make the son of a bitch compensate for his sinful debt."

Kumunot ang noo ko sa pagtataka. Baka mali lang ang pagkaintindi ko kay Alxeius kagabi?

"You bribe him with money to hospitalize himself. How does it happen, Heinrich?"

"Walang pinipiling lugar ang kriminal, Zy," tipid na sagot n'ya.

"Wrong answer, Mr. VP," seryoso na sabi ko. I thought it happened after the incident that night.

Narinig ko ang mabigat na paghinga n'ya sa kabilang linya. "Given the event last night in the school, a serial rapist and murderer is still the same as old habits. We gathered to drink to make ourselves high so we could push our limit. One of our friends named Pontus reported us that someone stranger gate crushed at the back of the school gate. It's ironic though, the security guard who was assigned there collapsed suddenly. It was clearly seen in the CCTV footage," he explained.

"Heinrich, are you trying to tell me that you guys put drugs on the drink? Why not call the police to corner him, the suspect? He could be accused of another crime and charged with death." Mahinang halakhak ang natanggap ko sa kanya. Baka high pa ang mga ito?

"Sorry. I found it a cute suggestion. The thing is, police are the most underrated actor in the movie. Their role was sluggish, like underpaid officers.
job must be awarded with a tardiness of the year." Heinrich laughed at his own punchline. He made a sense. "I definitely agree with Alxeius; police are latecomers after the crime scenes."