QED CLUB: the go-to place of students and teachers in Clark High whenever they have mind-boggling mysteries they want solved. For months, club president Loki Mendez has been managing it alone, but circumstances will force him to open its doors to ne...
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LORELEI
THIS CASE took a sudden twist. All along, we thought that the Roel poser was among the three male suspects. It had never occurred to us until the moment of truth that the girlfriend herself could be pretending to be him. Surprise! The victim of what we assumed to be a con and the perpetrator were the same person.
"So what are we going to do with that phone?" I asked. The four of us convened again in the clubroom the next day. Nasa mesa ang isang phone na may itim na case. May mga gasgas ang tempered glass nito.
Yesterday, Jamie and I pretended to have retrieved all the stolen phones except for one—Roel's, or Megan's, we later found out—and returned them to their respective owners. Megan seemed so distressed that her treasured gadget was missing. Pinakiusapan niya pa kami na samahan siya sa lugar kung saan namin nabawi ang phones. Baka doon daw nahulog ang kanya. Seeing her desperation to find it, our conclusion must be spot on.
In a way, I understood why Megan started using her late boyfriend's phone. She even logged in her social media accounts there. That phone was a repository of Roel's memories. Nandoon ang unposted and unsent selfies niya. Nandoon ang wacky videos niya. Nandoon din ang notes kung saan naka-draft ang thoughts niya. She wanted a part of him to remain with her. Kaya niya siguro naisipang kunin at gamitin ang device na 'yon.
Now, the phone was in our possession. Whether to return it to Megan or do something else with it, that was entirely up to us. At 'yon ang kailangan naming pagdesisyonan ngayon.
"Maybe we can hide it muna hanggang sa maging okay na siya?" suhestiyon ni Jamie habang ipinapaikot-ikot ang naka-braid niyang buhok. "I don't know kung paano niya na-manage na magpanggap na hindi siya ang nagse-send ng message sa sarili niya. Pero nagiging addiction na niya 'to. Ginagamit niya 'tong pag-cope sa pagkawala ng boyfriend niya. Kaso—sorry for the term—niloloko lang niya ang sarili niya. Kailangan na nating putulin habang maaga pa."
"By not returning this phone to her, we will be putting an end to her addiction, huh?" Alistair caressed his chin as he looked down. "That seems to make some sense. Pero nakita naman natin ang reaksyon niya kahapon, 'di ba? She was so stressed out by the fact that her phone got lost. It might worsen her situation kung hindi niya makukuha ang hinahanap niya."
"May punto ka." Napatango si Jamie, sandaling tumahimik, bago muling nagsalita. "What if ibalik natin ang phone na 'to sa kanya, pero tatanggalan natin siya ng access sa account ni Roel? That way, hindi na siya makapagpapanggap bilang boyfriend niya at titigil na ang messages! She can then start to move on!"
That was more acceptable than her first suggestion. Kung mahihinto na ang messages mula kay Roel, unti-unting mapagtatanto ni Megan na talagang wala na ang kanyang boyfriend. It was going to be painful—it was meant to be painful—but it would be the best for her.
"Kilalang-kilala niya si Roel kaya kuhang-kuha niya kung paano 'to mag-compose ng message. Kaya pala wala tayong mahanap na concrete discrepancy sa conversations nila!" dagdag niya bago iginala ang tingin. "So who's in favor of my brilliant suggestion?"
