October 17, 2020

3:00 PM

 

(POV: Arissa)

“WHY DID YOU DO THAT!? I ALMOST DIED, YOU KNOW!” Nikki shouts furiously at Angeliz.

“Sorry, sorry. We’re in a rush. Just don’t interfere too much and you’ll be fine.” Angeliz says calmly.

“RUSH?! DID SOMETHING HAPPEN!?” Nikki shouts worriedly.

“Not really. We’ll tell you later.” I say and we get in Angeliz’s car.

“Where are we going?” Nikki asks, with her face leaning on the car’s window. She looks like a little child staring at the scenery like that.

“To Marc.” I say as if that name didn’t mean a thing to anyone.

“Wait… WHAT!?! WHY?! WHY TO HIM!?” Nikki shouts.

Her grammar, it’s still terrible. After all this time… How in the world did she even get into college with grammar like that!?

“Nikki… I thought I taught you grammar already.” Angeliz says.

“I’m sorry.” Nikki replies.

“Why are you apologizing?” Angeliz asks.

“Whoops. I’m sorry…” Nikki says timidly.

She doesn’t look too good. I guess the thought of her seeing Marc made her feel bad. And… I guess I can relate to how she feels… well, sort of.

*BEEEP, BEEEEEEEEEEEP!*

“YOU SUNUVABEEETCH, GETAUTOF DA WAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!” Angeliz shouts angrily while rapidly honking the car’s horn. Her words are stumbling. I guess it’s because she’s that pissed.

“STOP SHOUTING! THEY CAN’T EVEN HEAR YOU, RETARD!” I shout at Angeliz.

“Traffic should die in a hole.” Angeliz says.

“Want me to drive for you?” I ask.

“Nah. You’d wreck my car.” Angeliz replies.

“EXCUSE ME, I AM NOT A BAD DRIVER!”

 

(POV: Angeliz)

“W$OUEFJ#IYERJHERYIWHKBJDEUHJ!! IFYSG!! IREH WIEUHFEYR GFEHUHEUOFHBVUEFHKVBNEJHNFERUWHFBNUEhKBJNERWIYFUnhdJEuwiJDKFM”

 

Here we go again with Arissa’s nag mode. I’m not listening to a word she’s saying. I can just hear the random shit she’s spatting out from her mouth. I didn’t mean to say that she’s a bad driver. What I meant to say is that, she’d destroy the car because she’d really get ticked off if she were to drive in this sort of traffic.

 

…

 

A few moments later, wait… No. A few HOURS later, Arissa stops nagging. What a miracle! And we finally arrive at the prison Marc’s in. I don’t understand why he won’t just post bail. His sentence is still on probation because the case is still pending and unsolved. But then again, I guess this is good. That bastard will get nowhere near Nikki if he’s stuck here. Honestly, I didn’t even see why Nikki dated him in the first place. He’s just a richass and a player. A guy who breaks everyone’s heart. Like in that anime I watched before. But, then again he could be different. COULD. Oh well, its Nikki’s life not mine. I shouldn’t mind her decisions. She wouldn’t listen anyway.

 

We’re all still in the car though. We’re just waiting for Nikki to wake up. It looks like she’s having a nightmare, though.

 

(POV: Nikki) (The grammar mistakes in Nikki’s POV are put in purposely. I’m trying to copy how Nikki talks so it could match her personality more.)

I can see Kuma and Brave chasing each other. This must be a dream. They look like they’re having fun, though Kuma’s really, really slow. I guess Brave and Kuma are friends now. They’ve been travelling together for a while. But, where to? Where and why are they journeying? From a distance, I could see some sort of dark forest. A haunted forest perhaps? While Kuma and Brave were walking, they bumped into a bunny and a hawk. The bunny was riding on the hawk’s back. The hawk didn’t seem to like it on its back. The bunny seemed cheerful and friendly, while the hawk seemed to be unapproachable. I wonder how those two got along. I’ll call the bunny Snowflake, because it’s a really white bunny. And the hawk, Hawkie… Yeah.. I’m just not creative. Hawkie seems to hate Snowflake though, it’s as if Snowflake is forcing him to like her or to be friends with her… or something….

 

“HEY GIRL WITH BAD GRAMMAR! GET UPPP IT’S BEEN THIRTY MINUTES ALREADYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!”

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

“Erm… what the heck is with you? Don’t shout at my face, dammit.” Angeliz says.

“Anyway, Nikki we’re here already. Get up.” Arissa says.

“O-okayy.” I stutter.

“Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare? If you want, we can go back.” Arissa says, obviously she’s concerned for me.

“Nah, waste of time. There’s no turning back now. Let’s go.” Angeliz says and walks off.

“ANGELIZ!” Arissa shouts angrily.

Angeliz turns back to face Arissa.

“To face him is better than to run away, because if you just keep running away from your problems, things will become even worse. Plus, fighting through the shitting traffic is aloottta work, ya know.” Angeliz says.

“Arissa… she’s right. I’ll face him. I want to know the truth after all. And maybe, just maybe, he might tell me what really happened. Wait... no, not maybe, he’ll definitely tell me. He doesn’t lie to me, that isn’t like him.” I say.

“You suuurrrrrrrreeeeeeeeee dooooo have a looooooooooooootttt of faith in him.” Angeliz says. The way she said it kinda sounds sarcastic.

“WELL, I DON’T THINK THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH TRUSTING THE ONE YOU LOVE!” Arissa shouts angrily in protest.

“Ughhhhhh.. Let’s just go.” Angeliz says.

“Okay.” I say and I get out of the car.

 

Once we were in the prison. Angeliz spoke with the lady guard and she led us to this room. She said that she’ll get Marc first, so we have to wait for a moment. I look around. There was this glass divider with tiny holes in it. I curiously stare at it and wonder why it’s there.

 

“It’s so that the criminal can’t do any harm and so that we can talk ‘peacefully’ with him.” Angeliz answers the question that swirled in my brain. How did she know that?

“Its obvious from your clueless face.” Angeliz says.

“ANO KA?! MANGHUHULA?!” I shout.

“OH GOSH, SHUT UP!” Arissa shouts.

“Nikki, just please don’t speak in Filipino. You’re still fucking terrible at it. After all these years, you STILL haven’t learned ANYTHING.” Angeliz says.

I’m stupid. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

“Sorry.” I say.

“Why are you apologizing?” Angeliz asks.

“I-I’m sorry.” I say.

… I am freaking stupid. I don’t know why I said sorry in the first place. I guess it’s because she intimidates me.

“You okay, Nikki?” Arissa asks.

“I-I’m good.”

Why do I keep stuttering? This is so annoying!

“He’s gonna be here in a bit.” Angeliz says.

 

I hear the other door open. Instinctively, I run behind Angeliz and hide behind her as if I were a little girl. I don’t know why, but I’m scared.

…

I’m scared to see him.

My heart is pounding. My chest started to tighten. I don’t like how this feels. I grab onto Angeliz’s arm. I start shivering.

 

“Heya Bastard!” Angeliz shouts happily.

“And till this day, you still hate me.” Marc says.

“Who said anything about hate? Just because I call you a bastard doesn’t mean I hate you.” Angeliz replies.

 

I was so scared that I could only get a glimpse of Marc. I only saw his blonde hair.

 

“How’s it hanging?” Angeliz asks.

“This place is shit. Why the fuck does the food taste like shit? This whole place is garbage.” Marc replies.

“It’s pretty decent compared to other prisons.” Angeliz says.

Marc… He wasn’t like this before. He wasn’t the type of person who’d cuss a lot and be such a spoiled brat. Is this his true colors?

“Decent? How the fuck do you call this dump decent?” Marc says.

“Well, they have pillows, for one. Anyway-“ Angeliz is interrupted by Marc.

My heart skips a beat. What am I nervous about?

“Oh… I see. So you brought her here.” Marc says.

I’ve been seen. I peek my head out, but I was still grabbing onto Angeliz’s arm. Its weird though, she’d usually say, “Hey, stop clinging to me.” Or something. But she doesn’t seem to care now.

“He-ey…” I say while trying to avoid his blue eyes.

“How’s it been? Are you alright? I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you that night. What happened was all so sudden.” Marc says.

 

(POV: Arissa)

 

His words… They’re obviously plastic. I bet Angeliz notices that too. Why does Nikki fall for that? Well, she’s madly in love with him, so I guess she’s bound to believe in everything he says. But, Marc seems to change when Nikki’s around. He seems more submissive. It doesn’t look like he really enjoys seeing Nikki though. I know how a person’s face would look like if they really enjoyed or loved each other’s presence. I…I remember that kind of expression. It would always make me feel better… Oh gosh, I should stop thinking of such things. It’s simply ridiculous!

 

“I-I’m good. Annddd…. It’s okay, really. I understand that.” Nikki says.

 

Why… Why is she scared? If she truly loves him, then she should be sure that he didn’t do it. Why?

 

“Why in the world are you so fucking scared? It pisses me off. You love him, right? Then you shouldn’t even be afraid of him. Don’t you have faith in him or something? You said that you have faith in him just a while ago. What kind of-“ I interrupt Angeliz.

“THAT’S FUCKING IT! ANGELIZ, STOP IT. YOU DON’T KNOW HOW SHE EVEN FEELS. MAYBE THERE’S ANOTHER REASON BEHIND WHATEVER’S HAPPENING TO NIKKI. STOP ASSUMING THINGS!”

“That’s true. But, my statement isn’t false either. And frankly, if they both loved each other, they wouldn’t dare-“ I interrupt her again.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT LOVE?! HUH!?”

“Ohhhh, shit.” Marc says.

“YOU SHUT UP!” I shout angrily.

“Your feelings won’t get you anywhere. Nikki’s situation is much different from yours. Besides, I’m just saying the truth, aren’t I? Stop being a feeler and learn to listen. You didn’t even bother trying to listen to what I have to say.” Angeliz says and storms out of the room. She slams the door shut. The doorknob falls off.

She can be such a bitch at times. She’s just too heartless. She’s too frank. She never seems to have any other emotion besides happy. It’s so annoying. She never ever seems sad or emotional. She just keeps on laughing, how the fuck is that even possible? She’s like a clown of some sort. Occassionally, she can get mad, but it only lasts for a while. Then, she gets back to ‘I’m fucking happy! My life’s awesome, look at me I’m happy! Bitchez!’ And in every argument we have, she just doesn’t seem to care if we’re nearly crying or mad. She doesn’t seem to care about other’s emotions at all. She may be right, but it’s not nice to just go straight to the point. Ugh.

“Arissa, are you alright?” Nikki asks.

“Yeah.”

Tears suddenly stream down from my eyes. I didn’t really notice until a few seconds pass. Nikki comforts me by enveloping me in a hug.

“This is all my fault. Sorry.” Marc says.

“I-its not. It’s my fault.” Nikki replies.

“No, both of you are wrong… It was all my fault. I let my emotions get the better of me.” I say.

“That’s true, but it’s okay.” Nikki says, trying her best to comfort me.

“Humans weren’t made to have hearts of steel anyway. It’s alright to express how you feel.” Marc says.

He isn’t that bad of a person at all. But, the first time I met him, he seemed like a prick. He was a player in the past. Always toying with a girl’s heart. But, I guess Nikki was able to change him. I’m still unsure whether they really do love each other or not, but it’s not my business. I shouldn’t butt in. All I have to do is to help Nikki solve the case. Whether Marc’s the criminal or not is a different story.