Project LOKI ③

Chapter 46: Shades of Grey VII (Grey Theories)

A/N: Another late night update! Kung may pasok kayo bukas ng umaga, unahin n'yo muna ang tulog. Bukas n'yo na lang basahin ang UD. 

LORELEI

"I'm on my way to the campus police station. I'm gonna turn myself in. For killing Augustus Moran."

I WAS at a total loss for words. 'Di ko alam kung ano ang dapat sabihin. 'Di ko alam kung ano ang dapat ire-react. Tulala ang mga mata ko kay Sir Rich pagkatapos niyang umamin. His gaze also lingered at me for a few seconds. I don't know him very well and we weren't that close so I doubt he'd be joking to me.

"I'm really sorry." He turned his back to us and went to the direction of the campus police station. We watched him walk away from us.

Even my friends were stunned by that revelation. We weren't prepared for it. All we had in our mind was to enjoy our lunch and think about our plan to convince the campus police to cooperate with us. Walang nag-expect sa amin na may biglang mag-iiwan ng pasabog habang patungo kami sa cafeteria.

We went silent for another minute, letting the other students walk past us. Loki squinted his eyes. Jamie's eyes were blinking while her mouth gaped. Alistair touched his chin and looked down.

"Uhm... guys?" Binasag ni Jamie ang katahimikan. Siya ang unang nahimasmasan sa amin. "Tama ba ang narinig ko? Umamin si Sir Rich na siya ang pumatay kay Augustus?"

Tumango ako sa kanya. Maging ako'y 'di makapaniwala. I wished I only misheard the English instructor, but no. That's exactly what he said. The four of us heard him perfectly.

"I don't know what to say about this." Alistair sighed, slowly shaking his head. "I have some reservations about Sir Rivera, but I didn't expect anything like this."

"Kinda anticlimactic, if you ask me," Loki commented as he blew some air. He didn't sound surprised. He was disappointed. "If he is truly what he said he is, then our search is over."

It's like a slap on our face that we didn't see coming. Wala mang disclaimer o warning. That thing came totally out of nowhere. Now we're left stunned on the roadside. 'Di ko alam kung gugustuhin ko pang tumuloy sa cafeteria. Ang dami na ngang gumugulo sa utak namin, dumagdag pa 'to.

My consciousness snapped back to the present when I heard someone's stomach grumble. Nagawi ang tingin ko kay Jamie na napahawak sa kanyang tiyan.

"Alam n'yo, ikain muna natin 'to," sabi niya sa amin. "Kailangan muna nating lagyan ng laman ang mga tiyan natin para ma-absorb ang bagong info na 'to. Let's go? Mamaya n'yo na isipin 'yan! Malilipasan kayo ng gutom, eh!"

"But the brain works better in an empty stoma—"

"Loki dear, huwag mo muna akong sabihan ng empty-empty na 'yan lalo na kapag gutom ako."

With her insistence, we went on our way to the crowded cafeteria. I may be physically here, but my mind was elsewhere. I tried to connect the dots, from the moment I met Sir Rich up to the very moment he admitted to killing Augustus. Para akong bumubuo ng puzzle sa isip ko.