Mirage (ON HOLD for revision)

Chapter 9: Missing

It's been two weeks since classes started, and eleven days since Matt last saw Cedric. The memory of their last conversation was hazy, and he couldn't quite recall how Cedric seemed that time. It wouldn't have mattered except not seeing him for eleven days also meant that Cedric has been skipping his classes for just as long.

Matt purposefully stood in the hall despite the action being something that he would never do, waiting for Cedric's friends. That he actually did see Julius almost baffled him, thinking that statistically speaking, it should've taken more than thirty minutes to run into one specific person in such a campus.

Next came the problem. Matt watched Julius turn into his corridor, messing around and being loud like normal teenage brats. Only then did he realize that he has never called out to someone for purely personal reasons before. It would've been a little bit easier if Cedric at least introduced them. But since he conveniently forgot, Matt couldn't help but wonder how strange it would seem to them if someone they don't know suddenly walked up to them and asked if Cedric has been coming to their classes together.

Before Matt knew it, Julius was already directly in front of him, and two beats later, the group has passed him by.

"What is it?" Julius asked, and for a second, Matt thought that Julius noticed him staring, took pity on him and put him out of his misery.

Only when Matt turned to face the group did he realize that he unconsciously grabbed Julius' arm, which was undeniably more suspicious than simply asking.

"Speak up, man! I'm starving! Don't you know it's bad manners to keep food waiting?"

"Shut up, Richie. It's not like you have food waiting for you," Mike interrupted, smiling at Matt.

"So, what did you want?" Julius asked again.

"I was wondering if Cedric has been attending his classes with you guys," Matt replied plainly and a little too straightforwardly in a desperate attempt to get the question across.

To his disappointment, he seemed to have failed, what with the group staring dumbly at him. Before he could ask it again, they suddenly burst out laughing.

"What's with that?" Richie asked, holding back his own amusement after being just being rude.

"Isn't that unusually specific? You could've just asked if we've seen him," Mike added in agreement.

"But I didn't want to find out if you've seen him," Matt replied in confusion, "I wanted to know how many classes he's been ditching."

That shut them up again, but only a reprieve as they resumed laughing in seconds. At the very least, Julius seemed to be paying attention to the actual question.

"No, he hasn't been attending classes," Julius seriously replied, "I didn't think you were friends so I didn't ask you if you've seen him."

"We're not friends," Matt frankly replied, "I just thought I saw his mother earlier. I may have been mistaken though," Matt replied, remembering the only time he ever saw Cedric's mother.

Julius seemed to ponder it a little, and Matt took it to mean he was making sure he hasn't seen Cedric.

"Whatever," Julius replied dismissively, "I'll let him know if I see him then."

"Thank you" has barely made it out of Matt's lips when Julius turned around hurried to class.

"You know, you shouldn't be so insensitive towards others," Mike said as he watched Julius walk into a room at the end of the corridor, "There's no need to go out of your way to inform us that you're actually lovers. It's not like we'll steal him from you."

"Hey--" Richie started in a flurry.

"Isn't it fine..."

Stunned silent, Matt couldn't ask what exactly Mike was talking about until their voices drifted away, much less set the record straight when the word "lovers" finally sank in.

"What the hell is wrong with those guys," Matt muttered in embarrassment as he shambled distractedly back to his seat. "No wonder they get along so well."

"Vizcarra," professor Art called out, "I'm reminding you that you said you wouldn't waste my time. Is it a habit of yours to space out in my class?"

It was beginning to get on Matt's nerves. He wouldn't have minded being singled out every day; he's used to the unwanted attention after all. But the class was also beginning to grow restless whenever his name is being said. And Matt knew based on experience that it wouldn't take much longer for someone to get on his case and repeat the cycle.

His eyes drifted from the professor to the empty seat beside him. To date, it was the longest time Cedric has gone missing. Something must have happened, Matt thought distractedly, recalling the face of the mother he saw five years ago and comparing it to the old woman he caught a glimpse of earlier.

I don't have time to deal with ego maniacs right now, Matt thought resignedly, at a loss for a moment whether the thought was for Cedric or the professor who was still, with evidently growing impatience, waiting for a response.

No time at all.

"What do I have to do for you to get off my back?” Matt caught himself saying.

A new wave of whispers lifted around the room, heads turning without regards for how their unveiled curiosity would make them seem. All eyes were on Matt, including the Professor's which showed another mix of emotions impossible to breakdown.

"Did you just basically ask me to shut up?" Professor Art asked.