Project LOKI ③

Chapter 47: Dead Men Tell No Tales VII (The Theory)

A/N: This is the penultimate part of Chapter 47! Tomorrow, Friday the 13th, is gonna be the crashing finale of this chapter. We'll move on to Chapter 48 right after. 

LORELEI

I'M GUILTY of judging our very own Jamie when it came to her brother. I was already expecting that she'd quickly come to his defense, lalo na kapag may nagtangkang manira ng pangalan niya. She said it herself. She would defend her brother's honor fiercely because the dead could no longer defend themselves.

Hindi na ako magtataka pa. Kuya niya ang pinag-uusapan dito. Close silang dalawa. As in dikit na dikit nga raw. Kung meron mang pagkakamali o pagkukulang ang kanyang kapatid, malamang binalewala o babalewalain niya. She would outright dismiss the accusations without listening to the full story. She's become overly biased toward him.

Oh, how the tables have turned! I found myself in the very same situation the next morning. This realization hit me in one of the rare occasions that ever happened: a disagreement between me and my childhood friend.

"No, no, no!" I repeatedly shook my head. Never ko pa siyang pinagtaasan ng boses sa pagkakatanda ko. Ngayon pa lang yata ang unang pagkakataon mula nang mag-transfer kami sa Clark High."That's absurd, Al! Malabong mangyari 'yang sinasabi mo!"

"Open your eyes, Lori," Alistair said calmly. He's trying to maintain eye contact with me, as if he's trying to hypnotize me. "You have to set aside your impression or feelings toward him. Huwag mong hayaang pangunahan ka ng bias mo. That will only cloud your judgment and turn you blind from seeing reason."

"Guys? Kalma lang kayong dalawa, ah?" Jamie stood between us, holding up both of her hands. "Remember, hindi tayo ang magkakalaban dito."

During our morning break, the three of us met at the rooftop. It's still restricted from all students—including us, execom members—but where else could we talk in private where there's little to no chance of being overheard? Si Alistair mismo ang nagpatawag ng emergency meeting na 'to. He told us that he had some breakthroughs in the Ephraim Quirino case. Mukhang napagtagpi-tagpi na niya ang mga nakakalat na piraso ng puzzle.

Loki's still not with us, but he told me before I left the apartment that he might attend classes tomorrow. Napadadalas na rin ang paglabas niya ng kanyang kuwarto at kumakain na rin siya on time. That's good news, which delighted not only me, but also Alistair and Jamie.

For now, we had to deal with this issue among the three of us. And I found myself on the defense.

"Are you seriously suggesting that Sir Rich is the third party?" nakapamewang kong tanong sa kanya. I cut away my gaze from him to chuckle. "Parang ang hirap namang paniwalaan niyan!"

I couldn't really believe. I don't want to believe it. Sir Friedrich Rivera has been on our side since we met him in front of the Clarion office. He's the one who gave us the quotations from the other publishing companies that helped us drive Augustus Moran into a corner.