Carnage of Vicinity (At a Not-So-Ordinary Senior High)

CHAPTER 10.75: Final Blow

CAMERON

THEY ALWAYS SAY that you should bury the past in order to move forward. For you to be able to move on from all the hurts that had caused you emotional and mental trauma, you have to forgive, and forget about the means that were used to pierce through your heart.

And the sad thing about life? If you would fire back to those who pulled their guns' triggers first, you will be the evil instead, and will not be called "poor" for asking justice and fairness. Unfair, isn't it?

That's what I learned from a very young age. I was plotted to be sent into trial for a crime I didn't commit: cheating on an exam. An evidence was fabricated in order to fit the story of its mastermind, the reason why I had no means of defending myself from a plain lie. It surely inflicted a damage on my name back then, but my reputation was tight enough that I was able to flip the table and convince most— if not everyone— of the student body that I didn't commit anything wrong.

In the present, the mastermind of my past misery hadn't done anything against me— apart from her countless harassments against me and my friend, if you'd count that— but that didn't mean that I wouldn't take an action against her during these times. That Ember the Witch was planning to take Vicinity down this time. But I wouldn't let that happen. Not while I'm still alive.

That may be an overstatement to you, but that's just how serious I was on protecting Vicinity. Let's just say that I wouldn't let him fall unless I'm the reason of it.

And now, it's time to witness that scene unfold.

"10 freaking minutes!" Vicinity was walking back and forth in front of me, his jet-black tousled hair bouncing here and there. He's been like that since we came in the school gymnasium. "In just a couple of moments, magsisimula na ang competition. Why am I the only one here who feels uneasy here?!"

"Para ka ngang batang naghihintay tuliin, eh." Michaela linked her arm around Vicinity's neck. I almost snatched her arm off him but I had no energy to do so. I just let her do what she wanted. "Ano ka ba? Chill ka lang! Maning-mani lang sa'tin 'to."

"Wala rin naman tayong dapat ikakaba, if you're feeling nervous about that thing." Rainier looked up from looking at his phone, then gazed straight to Vicinity's eyes. "Your dilemma has already been solved. Ano pa ba ang kailangan mong isipin?"

It's true that Vicinity's fight with his enemy— The Nightwalkers— has already been set to an end. I had known the context behind it from Michaela and Rainier when we met back in The Crave. Vicinity issued a baseless claim, he was gone after by the publication for it, and now he ensured, together with the siblings, that the truth would not come out by paying a publication's staffer a quick visit. All's done. The truth had already been sealed to be hidden forever. Or so they believed.

"He insisted na undecided siya at ikokonsulta niya pa sa org ang magiging final decision niya." Vicinity stopped on his tracks and looked at us. "What if he flips? Anong magagawa ko kapag hindi niya sinunod ang usapan?"

When we met here in the gymnasium an hour ago, that's the first thing Vicinity brought up to me after I confessed my knowledge about his dilemma. He told me about the uncertainty that Kristoff Adellano had given him. If only he assured my guy here about his end on the deal, maybe Vicinity would be at peace by now and could focus on our present whereabouts. Poor him, really.

"We have already showed him our cards. May hawak tayong ebidensya against him." Rainier looked around to see if someone was eavesdropping on our conversation. When he's assured that everyone in the gymnasium has their own business, he looked back at Vicinity. This time, his voice was lower. "Kung itutuloy niya ang pag-publish ng issue nila, magiging sure ticket 'yon sa kaniyang controversy within our campus, since maaanunsyo na siya ang ulo ng organization na matagal nang nang-i-invade ng privacy ng mga estudyante rito. Hindi niya naman siguro gustong mangyari 'yon, hindi ba?"