IDENTITY: TWO
ALEX POV
6 months later...
Walking towards our classroom, I enjoyed the scenario of listening to Taylor Swift's song. It's the kind of day where you have nothing to worry about but to listen to your favorite song. It's a beautiful day, with no threatening rain or storms, just a plain sunny day.
"YAH!" I heard a shout, but I didn't pay attention until something hit my head. It wasn't too painful, just enough to grab my attention. I stopped walking and looked back to see who might have thrown something at me. "I've been calling you for a while!" shouted an annoyed girl in a school uniform. It made me more irritated when I realized it was my best friend.
I removed my earphones and turned off the music. "Do you really need to throw something? What if I threw something at you?" I retorted, feigning anger. I wasn't really angry. I never get angry with my best friend. I just can't. After all, she's all I've got. Without her, I might have ended up somewhere else.
"Hmp!" she huffed, then went to the notebook she threw at me, which was now on the ground. She picked it up, and added it to the pile of books and notebooks she was carrying.
"You're the one who has the nerve to get mad now when you're the one at fault," I defended.
"Excuse me! Is it my fault you're deaf? Why is the volume so loud when you have earphones on? I looked like a fool calling you earlier. Other students were already staring at me!" she reasoned as we slowly walked towards our classroom. It was already 7:23, and our classes started at 7:30. That meant we had 7 minutes left before the first class. Luckily, we were just 2 minutes away from reaching our classroom.
This was my third week here, but it still felt strange. I'm not a transferee because my records state that I've been studying here since the first year, which I can't remember. It's weird not to remember my freshman years. And the worst part is, I also don't remember anything from my second year. It seems like I skipped those two years and got accelerated to the third year. I tried to Google my condition, and the only result that came up was "Amnesia."
"Alex!" Maica called me, bringing me back to reality. I looked at her, standing on her desk next to mine. "It's time already! Are you coming in, or are you just going to stare there?"
I quickly entered the classroom and it sank into my mind that I had a class. I moved to my seat and sat down. As I sat, our professor walked in.
"Good morning, aspiring Medical Technologists!" greeted Ms. Porte. She's my favorite professor because of her boundless positivity. She always wore a smile that I could stare at all day. Ms. Porte was in her 40s, but she still looked beautiful.
We all stood up and greeted her. Ms. Porte started her discussion by focusing on bacteria. As MedTech Practitioners, we needed to know all types of bacteria to understand what to do and what processes to perform. As usual, Ms. Porte made our discussion enjoyable. It wasn't like some of our other subjects where it was so boring you'd rather sleep.
Now, we're at the canteen for lunch. I ordered my favorite dish, chicken adobo, paired with a Coca-Cola. Maica, on the other hand, ordered her favorite chicken curry with a side of Royal. As we looked for a table, I noticed students staring and whispering about me.
What's their problem?
I tried to ignore them. After all, I just didn't care about what they were saying about me.
"I can't believe how he did it, but he deserves to be punished, or maybe expelled," exclaimed a girl I noticed staring at me from head to toe. I could see in my peripheral vision the way she was mocking me.
What "punishment" is she talking about? Did I do something wrong?
"Trisha! He might hear you," her friend tried to stop her.
"I don't fucking care! It's true. He's a murderer. He killed my brother!"
"Kill him, Alex! Kill him." I couldn't move upon hearing this.
"He's a murderer..."
Did I kill someone? Why don't I know about it? Is it true? Am I a murderer?
"Hey! Are you stupid?" Maica suddenly yelled, bringing me back to my senses. "If you can't do anything, don't accuse people!"
"Who are you calling stupid? Me?! Excuse me, what I said is true. Your friend killed Xander!" she angrily shouted, and I assumed Xander was the name.
Who is Xander? How could I have killed him if I didn't even know him?
"You mean the bully? That's why. It's karma for him!" Maica responded.
"Miss Cristavilla?!" We immediately looked at the source of the voice.
"What?! Why is she the only one suspended?! You should also suspend that Trisha girl who instigated this!" I complained angrily while standing in front of the Dean. I knew that I could also be suspended for what I was doing, but I didn't care. It was better to be suspended so I could be with my best friend.
"My eyes never lie, Alex, neither do my ears," the Dean replied calmly.
"So that's it? Just because you heard and saw Maica first, you're going to charge her immediately?!"
"Alex, that's enough," Maica gently restrained me.
"No, Maica. This is total discrimination!"
"Watch your mouth, Mr. Alex Rischon. If you keep this attitude in front of me, I have no choice but to suspend you," the Dean threatened.
"So be it, because I can't stand this school anymore! Let's go, Maica."
Maica quickly stood up and approached me. We swiftly headed to the office door and opened it. Maica went out first, and I followed. But before I could leave, I looked back at the dean, who was also looking at me. "I looked up to you as my role model. But I never expected that you would succumb to money. I know that Trisha's father is supporting this school with his wealth, so you can't just summon Trisha to the office easily, because it might affect the support." I was expecting a response from her, but I didn't hear her speak. So I just went out to distance myself from this nauseating place.
I saw Maica waiting for me on the staircase, so I quickly went to her. Despite being suspended, she still managed to smile. "I never expected you to answer back. You're supposed to be the shyest in our class."
"I stay silent in class, but when it comes to rights and justice, I will never hesitate to use my voice to fight for it."
"Tell me, Alex. Are you an activist?"
I couldn't help but smile at her joke. "Crazy! Come on, let's go! I'm hungry. We haven't eaten earlier because of that annoying Trisha."
"Bullies will always be a bully unless a force is acted on it."
"Newton's Law of Motion? You're listening too?"
"Duh~. Don't underestimate me, Alex. I am more than you think I am," she arrogantly said.
"Really?"
We're on our way home. We just got home from our outing. Since we're suspended, we decided to enjoy it instead of being covered by negativity. We went to the cinema, went shopping, and also had a food trip. We were so happy. We felt like birds that had escaped from a nauseating cage.
"This may be the happiest day of my life! Can you believe it? We accomplished all our weekly goals in just half a day!" Maica said happily. I just smiled at her statement and continued walking. It's almost 9:45 in the evening, and luckily there's no curfew in our boarding house. Maica's parents aren't strict either, so we're good. Nothing to worry about.
"By the way, Maica, what are your plans for this week?" I asked.
"Yeah, right? Since we already did our weekly goals, we don't have anything else to do, do we?" We fell silent for a few seconds, thinking about what we could do tomorrow and in the following days. "You know what! Let's not worry about that for now. We'll find out tomorrow."
"True, it's more exciting when it's not planned."
"You're correct!"
Amid our conversation, I didn't realize that I was already right in front of my boarding house. "I'm here."
"Go ahead."
"Take care on your way home," I told her, and she nodded.
"Yes, Dad!"
We waved goodbye to each other, and she continued walking. I didn't go in right away and watched her disappear from my view. Her house is quite far from the boarding house, maybe about half a kilometer.
When I couldn't see her anymore, I immediately went inside because my body couldn't take the cold. Even though I wanted to stare at the beautiful sky, I just couldn't.
I'm in the hallway heading to my room. As usual, the hallway still had that weird smell for an unknown reason. I can't explain the smell, but I've gotten used to it, so I just let it be. Aside from the smell, it's also very noisy here. Mostly because the people boarding here are live-in, so there are constant fights. Fortunately, my room is at the end, so it's not too noisy. I'm also thankful that the room next to mine is empt-
Wait...why does it feel like there's someone?
I know there's someone because the light inside is on, and the lock is gone. The TV is on, and it sounds like water is running. I stopped in front of the door, thinking it was still vacant. I quickly left when I noticed the shadow under the door. When I reached my room's door, I quickly opened it and went inside.
As expected, my room hasn't changed. It's still messy, but not too much. Just some clothes scattered on the bed, that's all.
I looked at my watch, and I saw the time strike at 10:01, which meant I was behind my sleeping hour. I quickly put my bag in its usual spot and headed to the bed with some clothes scattered on it. I folded them and put them back in the closet since I didn't use them.
After that, I washed up and prepared to sleep. And not long after, I was lying on my soft bed. I took my cell phone to check the unread messages from someone. I also decided to text Maica to check if she had arrived home. After sending it, I turned it off and closed my eyes.
"Alex!" a girl called with a smile on her face. She was wearing the same uniform she wore earlier. But something was wrong. Maica's crying. Her uniform was dirty too.
"What happened to you?"
"18..."
"Huh? 18? What's that?"
"9..."
"Why are you crying like a fool?"
"3..."
"11."
I couldn't help but be confused by what she was saying. I tried to ask her, but she kept answering me with numbers.
What the fuck is that numbers?
I noticed she was gradually disappearing. But someone is appearing in her place. A smaller, young little--
Wait...he seems familiar.
"Hi, Alex," he greeted with his devilish smile. After that, something black came out from his feet and gradually occupied the place. Everything turned black, and no light could be seen. I'm starting to get anxious about what might happen. My danger sense was alarmed, telling me that something wrong would happen.