Shoutout. / 황현진

60 | the truth untold

"it will heal within a week. basta wag lang masyadong maggagalaw and don't forget to put this cream on your cheek."

cara winced as the nurse cleaned her wounded cheek. she looked at the cream on her hand and let out a breath when the nurse was finally done.

naisipan niyang dumaan muna dito bago siya pumunta sa faculty para hanapin si sir jaehwan. yesterday was really rough. hindi alam ni cara kung nasa presinto pa ba sina sean o nakalabas na but cara was sure with one thing, hindi na siya aabalahin ng mga yun.

paglabas ni cara sa clinic, wala nang masyadong tao. 9:30 magsisimula yung opening program ng school festival, it was 9:17 now. she should get going at baka hinahanap na siya ng sir jaehwan niya.

"look who's here," cara heard a voice say, "pag sinuswerte ka nga naman."

cara turned to see shane standing at the other end of the hallway. cara felt anger spike straight to her head. she tried so hard to maintain her resting bitch face and not glare at shane to hell.

"anong ginagawa mo dito?" shane raised an eyebrow. ni hindi manlang siya nag-abalang itago ang sama ng ugali niya. she was with 3 other girls who were giving her disgusted looks.

"that's how you pick a fight? try again," cara scoffed.

shane laughed, "hmm no. di kasi ako basagulero katulad mo."

"so you let your cousin do the dirty work?" cara nodded in mock understanding, "hindi ka nga basagulero but you know what you are? a psychopath."

cara could see the slight shift on shane's face. she knew she hit a nerve so she decided to push a little harder.

"and snatching hyunjin from me? pretending to be a someone else just to impress everyone? that's pathetic."

shane pushed cara by the shoulder, "you know what's pathetic? the fact that hyunjin left you for me."

cara felt a sharp stab on her chest, she clenched her fists on her side, "his loss, not mine."

shane smirked, pushing her again by the shoulder, "sinong talunan satin ngayon ha?"

when cara didn't respond, shane pushed her again but harder, making cara stumble backwards. cara's jaw involuntarily clenched but she kept her mouth shut.

"ano? cat got your tongue? bakit di ka makapagsalita? kasi totoo? you're a loser. well, let's see if this can make you talk," shane raised her hand to slap cara.

that's when cara finally snapped. she caught shane's hand and twisted it. shane yelped.

"alam mo kung sinong talunan? ikaw. you won't win the pageant because you obviously have a few loose screws," cara seethed, twisting shane's hand even more.

lalapit sana sa kanya yung mga kasama ni shane but cara sent them a cold glare, "alam niyo kung anong nangyari sa pinsan nito? i won't hesitate to do that to you if you don't stay out of this."

"aray! aray! tulong!" shane shouted, "let me go!"

"cara!"

cara immediately pushed shane. although she didn't push that hard, shane magically ended up falling on the floor.

within seconds hyunji was beside shane, helping her stand up. and shane was full on theatrics now, she was crying while clinging desprately on hyunjin.

shane pointed a finger at cara, "she was hurting me, hyunjin!"

for a second, hyunjin lookes furious but when he met cara's eyes, his gaze faltered. cara snorted, "liar."

"totoo yun," said a girl who was with shane.

hyunjin looked at the girl and then whipped his head towards cara's direction, "don't lie, cara. sinaktan mo ba siya?"

cara smirked, "well, medyo."

"she was trying to break my hand!" shane yelled.

"you're lucky i didn't," cara retorted.

hyunjin sighed, "cara please. wag kang manggulo. may pageant pa kami sa friday."

cara scoffed, "oh. bakit may quiz bee din naman ako bukas ah? why don't you ask virgin mary here kung anong ginawa niya sakin kahapon?"

"wag mo 'kong pagbibintangan! hyunjin maniwala ka wala akong ginagawa sa kanya. we were together yesterday right? wala akong ginagawa," shane wailed.

"sure. she didn't do it herself. she made sean do it," cara crossed her hands over her chest, "you see this wound on my cheek? also the bruises on my stomach, she made them do it."

"teka, si sean?" hyunjin looked confused, "that's impossible."

"oh no it's not," a voice spoke behind cara.

seya walked towards them, she winked at cara before turning to shane, "hi cousin."

"magpinsan kayo?" hyunjin looked lost.

"oh yes," seya grinned at the frightened look on shane's face, "you know who else is part of the family tree? yep, you guessed it right, pinsan din namin si sean."

"hindi. paanong―"

hyunjin was cut off when cara threw him a black flashdrive, "open it, throw it away. i don't care."

cara walked away with a heavy heart. masakit isipin na kahit nasa harapan na nga niya ang totoo, hyunjin would still choose to defend that girl. cara swallowed the huge lump building on her throat and blinked the tears away. no, she wasn't going to cry. she can't.