Chapter 10: Mistrust
JADE:
The light bulb flickered, and the corridor grew eerily cold. Were these all just in my imagination?
No, a heavy mist went out of my mouth just when I was about to scream. This had to be real! What the hell was happening?
I closed Marian’s locker and hooked the lock back into it. I quickly stuffed the USB and phone into my bag, and I clutched the thick plastic envelope full of papers into my bosom.
I don’t know what’s happening, but when the worse comes to worst, I was prepared to run with all these things away!
Finally, the flickering light bulbs had stopped and gave way into complete darkness. Save from the lights in the windows, which was not enough to illuminate the building, there was nothing but a pitch black darkness and loneliness around me. I groped into the shadows with one hand, and held the envelope tightly with the other.
Despite the dimness, I could see someone approach me. It was a girl based on its silhouette.
Am I getting haunted by Marian’s ghost? There was no way, right?...
The figure came closer and closer. I cannot run nor hide anywhere. I was stuck in the place like a plastered picture on the wall.
I decided I would confront it.
“M-Marian,” I breathed in.
I had nothing to fear. I was only trying to help her, but even so, my knees wouldn’t stop shaking.
That’s when I heard someone call my name.
“Jade…”
My heart stopped! The figure approaching me knew my name! Was it really a ghost?
Before I could run, a pair of hands descended on my shoulder. I yelled, and almost immediately, the light bulb flickered back, and there was my best friend, Dianna, standing right in front of me.
“Hey, bestie,” she said shaking me back into my senses. “Jade, are you okay?”
Tears ran down my eyes a bit, and I sighed in relief when I saw my best friend. “Dianna!”
“Jade, what are you doing here? Did you get lost?”
I could only look back at her dumbfounded. I had forgotten that she was a Physical Therapy student and was part of the College of Health Sciences. I didn’t know how to explain to her why I was in her college building and why was in front of that locker, clutching a bunch of papers in a plastic envelope.
Her eyes darted back and forth from me to the envelope I was carrying. Maybe I didn’t have to say anything at all... One look was all it took, and it seemed she already knew what I had done.
“Come with me, bestie,” she said, tapping my shoulder gently. “Let’s go to the canteen and talk this over, shall we?”
We sat over at one of the free tables inside the school canteen for a long time, and I opened up to her about the things I have learned and the feat I have done so far.
“So, you are saying that this white card right here is from Marian herself? She has left you this clue?”
I nodded. “I don’t know if she has left that or if it just happened to stick to my shoes, but in any case, what I know is that it has something to do with Marian Rabiola.”
“I see. Then, we have to give this to the police immediately,” Dianna said, her face full of worry.
“What? No, we can’t give it to them,” I said, mortified. I sipped some milk tea. I evaded looking at Dianna’s eyes.
“But why? This is a piece of crucial evidence, Jade!”
My face fell. “I know, but… Look, just let me keep it for some time… I’ll give it to Captain Rigdon soon, okay?”
Dianna’s face turned serious. “Jade, what are you planning to do? Why would you keep something creepy like this around you?”
Beads of sweat were forming at my forehead. “It’s just… This card, I think it’s a sign.”
“A sign,” my best friend said exasperatedly. “A sign of what?”
“It was given to me as a sign, so I think it’s only fitting that I follow it and find out the truth about it…”
“Jade, what do you mean by that,” Dianna ejaculated. Her face was turning pale now. “What sort of sign are you talking about? Do you mean to say you want to find out more about Marian and the person who killed her?”
“Well, why not? I mean, she asked for some help in my dreams anyway…”
“Bestie, like you said, it was just a dream. You were traumatized by what you saw… Are you sure that this isn’t just your imagination acting up?”
“W-What,” I said, taken aback. “How can you say that to me? That dream was real! She was asking for help, and now that I found this clue, do you think I’ll just set this aside? How could you say that?”
My heart felt hurt. Of all people, why did it had to be Dianna who would doubt me like this?...
Dianna’s face was agitated, but the moment I raised my voice, she became more aware of her facial expression. She was a lot calmer and her voice was softer when she spoke back. “Jadey, I understand where you are coming from. I really do. But, don’t you think you might be reacting just a little bit over the top here?”
She started to clutch my hand. “Remember back in high school, when you said Kix was harassing you and following you around?... Back then, you were too sensitive too, and everything went out of hand… I just I don’t want you to get hurt, Jade.”
That was it! How dare she say the name of the boy who ruined my life? How dare she use that incident against me?
I quickly rose from my seat and picked my bag and the plastic envelope up in each arm.
“Hey, Jade, where are you going?” Dianna attempted to hold my arm, but I brushed her hands off me.
“You know, I trusted you! Of all people, I thought you were going to believe me, but I guess you really didn’t!” I walked a little further away from her before I turned around to face her again.
“How dare you mention Kix in front of me like that? Are you trying to say that I am crazy?” I swallowed the tears that had threatened to choke me further as water had already started to fill my eyes. “Of all people, I thought you believed me, Dianna, but I was just a fool to think that it would be the case.”
I stormed out of my best friend, my childhood friend, my sister from another mother…
It turned out she didn’t believe my story about Kix after all these years, and now, she doesn’t believe in Marian’s story too...
