UNPSYCHIC.

Case 01 :: Chapter 03

At the wake of that fiasco, I left my mom thirty minutes later to somehow coax Danni into going to school, who still locked herself in her room. I found myself in full throttle and stepped on the accelerator, trying not to be late for my 8 a.m. class as I speeded my old Chevy across the streets of downtown Baguio. Once I made it to the university's parking lot, it took me another ten minutes to find a vacant spot. I checked my watch, it was already eight fifteen a.m. 

Well damn.

I sprinted towards the lavishing campus courtyard of San Lorenzo Ruiz Academy, side dodging students who stood in my way. The well kept landscaping would have me appreciate it in a normal setting, but right now it has put a great distance between me and my first class of the day. 

Finally making it to the East Wing, the farthest right building block of the campus, I climbed three flights of stairs and raced through the deserted hallway, searching for a particular room number at every door. Skidding to a stop at the second to the last room on my right, I placed both hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath, my side stinging from the marathon.

I inhaled a deep breath before pushing the door open. The professor, somewhere around his mid-thirties but already with a receding hairline, paused his hand from whatever he was writing on the whiteboard to glance and raise a knowing brow at me. Rolling his eyes, he continued writing and said in a bored voice, 

"Everyone, what is the number one rule in my class?" 

Silence. Some of the seated students threw hesitant glances at each other and murmured among themselves, causing the professor to turn towards them with both hands to his waist when they didn't answer. 

"Class?" He stressed.

"There's no room in class for late students." They all droned monotonously and out of sync.

The professor nodded in contentment. "Goodbye." He shooed me with his hand as he went back to face the board.

"S-sir…" I interjected. "I-I'm sorry it's just that I had a hard time finding this room--"

"Class, what's the number two rule?" He interrupted me for a second time as he continued scrawling, the sound of the marker against the smooth surface of the whiteboard had set my teeth on edge. 

"No use in explaining why you're late." 

The professor shrugged. "Sorry pal. Rules are rules. Better luck tom--"

He was cut off when the classroom door behind me opened. The low murmurs from the students seized and they gawked at whoever entered. 

It was another student. A girl. Who had a hoodie on so I could only see the lower part of her face. She passed by me and was about to head towards the empty seats at the back, before the professor--Sir Matti, based on the slip of paper between my fingers--halted her in her tracks.

"And just where do you think you're going? You know the rules of this class. Once you're late--" 

Her head snapped towards his direction that cut him off from the rest of his sentence. I still couldn't see her eyes from where I stood, but there was no mistaking the look of panic on Professor Matti's face at what he saw. He took a cautious step back and jutted out his chin so high to maybe compensate for the tail hiding between his legs.

"Go take your seat." He said through gritted teeth I thought I could almost hear his jaw clench.

"And him? Wouldn't want word of nepotism to spread around, do you?" The unmistakable sarcasm that laced her tone almost had me laughing at the professor's face, which turned into a stark shade of red. Sir Matti spared me a second glance as though having forgotten I was there, before he signaled me to go as he went back to his writing.