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I left the hospital premises soon as Mr. Neumans sedative kicked in. Ms. Braide ordered me to go get rest.

I was so relieved to oblige. I hailed a taxi cab back to Sunkiss. On the way, I had a long time to think about my boss. What happened to him is a mystery. And why it happened. Did he do that to himself? Or is he just so banged by the alcohol? Was it an accident? Why the bitterness? Why the hopelessness? He fills my head with so much questions. Hey, Drei! Vin! He saw me get off the cab. Vin opened the cars door and then closed it again before he frowned at me. I thought you sneaked off with Troy. He said. Troy! No. You havent seen him yet? He shrugged. Tonis going ballistics. Shes about to call the police. Where is she? Vin and I ambled towards the beach where the party is still in full swing. LAKE! Jesus! We were about to dial your Aunts number! Sheila cried as she hugged me. Where were you? Youre not anwering your phone! Im fine. Im okay. I was in the middle of something- What happened? We thought youre with Troy. Cad said. Im fine, really. Tell us what happened! No. Unfortunately, my paranoid friends, I cant. I just... I went back home and.. slept. I didnt know youd be this worried. Im.. sorry. There was fast movement, and when I glanced, Toni has left without so much as a turn of her head to my direction. She was about to report you as a missing person. I pointed out that she cant until youre gone for at least 24 hours. The way she was looking at me, I thought Id burn. Chris reported. I should talk to her. I blurted. Shed come around. Give her time to sleep on it tonight. Tomorrow, you apologize so she can fry you for hours. Chris reassured. You okay? Zara held my elbow. Im good. Really. Perfect. Now, everyone ready for the finale fire dance? Vin addressed our group. Guilt-ridden as I am, I cannot disclose to Toni, or to any living soul the truth. Its not my secret to tell. I wasnt even supposed to witness any of it, but... thats moot point now. The fire dance is as fierce as I remember. Full of breathtaking exhibition of dancing flames gracefully executed by agile showgirls. Better than last year, huh? I know that voice. Uh, yeah. Was all I replied. I wanted to roll my eyes. Hes not exactly the person I want anywhere near me today. And to my disappointment, hes taken place by my side. Daquiri? he offered. She doesnt drink. Not like you dont know it. Vin thankfully butted in.

Its her Im talking to, Vin. Dude, piss off. Shes not interested. Not like you dont know it, either. Vin strikes a blow. He took a slug of the daquiri he offered me, all the while not taking his eyes off Vin. And then he stalks off. Trouble? Cad strides in. Dash the Dickhead is making a pass at Drei. Nothing new. Vin says. He wouldnt dare if Troy were here, I thought. Whos that? Chris asks. Dash Pendleton. And? Chris wont give it a rest until I told her the story.

-flashbackThis is not a good idea. I knew it. Still, I hadnt imagined how much worse it would be. Dash started the small motor boat running. After 20 minutes, were in the middle of the sea, at 9 PM. All I see were the flickering lights of the shore. Im frightened out of my wits. Why did I agree to this??? Can we go back? I said faintly. Scared? Dash taunts. Idiot! Im holding my breath here. Please Dash, lets go back. Its not a request. And Im deciding the best angle to kick your butt when solid ground is present. Not until weve done what we came here to do. Me and my watch-the-stars-in-the-middle-of-the-sea dream. It looks so romantic in the movies. In reality, its darn cold out here. Not to mention my dread at the large expanse of darkness of the water and the sky. This is so not a good idea. To cap it all, Dash places his hands on both sides of my cheeks. What are you doing??? Im in hysterics. Stay still, baby. His face comes too close for comfort. The nerve of this perv! I struggled against him, pushing him away. At the same time, my fear of falling into the water intensifies as the boat rocks. Dash continues his assault. Coackroach crap! The perv is a good swimmer, and he knows I cant move a limb in the water. Theres nowhere to run. Hes got me trapped. Just when all hopes were evaporating fast, I heard a noise. But then I had no chance to wonder, because the next thing I knew, Im submerged in deep water. As the saline invades my mouth, my nose, I gasped, inviting more saltine fluid. I thought it was the end of the universe, but then, I felt a pull on my stomach. Someone was hauling me out of the water. Then I felt myself being slumped into a jetski. Youre pathetic. I heard him say. You know how to swim. I turned to see the capsized boat, where a figure was moving. Huh? So, its not Dash who saved me? I knew whos voice it is!

You! Me. Was his sardonic reply as he helped me onto the jetski. Once ashore, he took my hand. He grabbed a towel in one of the lounges and wrapped it around me. You okay? He was frowning. Serious. So Troy the Troll is showing concern? Of me? Am I on the right planet? Ive left my voice box in the sea. What? he snapped, finally noticing that Im frowning at him now. Nothing. Nothing? Thats a first. he smirked. Yeah, usually I always have a retort against him. How did you find me? Compass. He walks away. I follow him, sitting beside him on the sand, facing the sea. The motor boat was heading to the beach, far away from where we are. Your friend is safe. He comments. Hes not my friend anymore. I said grudgingly. The fault is yours as much as its his. He says. What? Why did you come with him in the first place? What do you think is his plan, taking you in the middle of the sea? To measure the water volume? You are blaming me? How am I supposed to know? We were friends. I havent the slightest idea that he would try to.. to kiss me or whatever. I would. He says, like a whisper. I turned to him, not sure what I heard, or what he means. Try to kiss you. I want to try to kiss you. He looked me straight in the eye as he said it. And then we were staring into each others eye. It was like I was seeing him for the first time. The fact that he tripped me on purpose the first day we met, accidentally bathed me in soda at Sunkiss without apology, waved my bra at me across the swimming pool and picked an argument everytime were in the same room drifted away in the background. And just when I was weighing whether or not Id let him have the honor of being my first kiss, he stood up. You need to get dry. Of course, hes jerking me around. First kiss, huh? I guess its the inward humiliation of even considering for a second that he is going to kiss me that triggered my anger. I muttered thanks, and then ran as fast as my feet can carry towards my bike. I headed home. He didnt even call my name. The next day, as I was parking my bike, I felt a presence behind me. Dash wants his found of flesh. This coackroach prick! Ouch! Oh, no. My prepared slap landed on a wrong face. Im.. so... so.. sorry! I thought it was.. mortified, I was wringing my hands. I took a closer look at his visage, now bearing the mark of my hand. Yikes! It is sort of red... Well, at least I know it wasnt intended for me. Troy said. I bit my lip. What can I do to make you forgive me? Please... It took him a minute and a sigh before he replied. Go out on a date with me.

And it was uphill from that.

Mind if I join you? I almost jumped in my seat when the Tonis request sounded. It was 2 in the morning. Weve been home an hour ago from the firedance festival. Sheila and Christian are upstairs in their usual snoring contest, being dead beat. They told me they had the time of their lives dancing the night away. I excused myself from joining on account of my headache. I thought you were asleep. I said. She scurried around, making coffee and then eventually, settled opposite my seat. Im sorry for being inconsiderate. Shouldve known youd worry. I started. Im not mad because you were being inconsiderate. Im mad because you lied. Toni clarified. About what? I am completely lost. About why you didnt make it in time. You know Im a human lie detector. Ah, Tonis gift. She has this weird, unreal but proven and tested ability to know if a person is telling the truth or not. I swear the FBI should hire her. I cant tell you. Her eyebrow raised. Please dont take it personally, Ton. Its not that I dont want to tell you. Its just that I cannot. Toni took a sip of coffee. Among the four of us, theres an arbitrary division. Sheila and Chris are team A, Toni and I comprise team B. Sheilas the nice girl. Chris is the happy-go-lucky one. Tonis sensibility can always be counted on. While Sheila and Chris are busy taking on the world with their easy charm, Toni and I keep it cool. So yeah, shes my BFF. Are you up to something? Ton, dont draw any conclusions. It has something to do with my boss. I never lie to Toni. Its an old unbreakable habbit. Her eyes pleaded for information. Sorry, thats all I can tell you. Something came up and I cant leave soon enough. I feel its my implied duty not to disclose anything to anyone. Toni was nodding her head. Okay. Okay... Really okay? She smiled. Your dilemma is legit. Though honesty is the best policy, prudence is a virtue. Thanks for understanding. Lets switch subejcts. Did your boyfriend tell you when hes coming here? Coz Cad has told me so much about him. Im dying to find out for myself if the legends are true. She caught me off guard. The truth slipped off my tongue. No. He didnt text you or call you? No. Tonis eyes narrowed. I guess I cannot hold off my issues anymore. I havent had news from him for 6 months. That left Toni dumbstruck. When she recovered from the shock, she broke into shriek. SIX MONTHS? I felt those two words slice trough my core. No text? No calls? Email... Something??? I shook my head slowly. We chat for an hour or two everyday before going to bed, send each other

emails. And then, six months ago it all stopped. Lake. The stimulus of my name triggered the waterworks that I cant resist any further. Toni hurried to comfort me with a hug. Hes asleep. Of course he is. This is really starting to be routinary. Now, what would Troy do if he was here? Inspired, I rung the call bell at the bedside as vigorously as I can. Up, up, up! Reflexively, he threw the sheets to my direction. Oh, no Mr. Neuman. Ive learned my classical conditioning lessons of human behavior. I dodged the sheets, shaking the call bell harder. Get up! Cmon. Its Sunday. Were going on a tour. I commanded. Hes putting up a fight, turning of his back on the bed without making any move of getting off it. Lets get out of this room. Lifes too short not to have fun. He is still. Okay. Aces out, I decided. I saved your life. I was grinning from ear to ear as I watched him prise himself from his slumber, obviously against his will. He ambled with heavy, punctuated steps. Get him out of his cocoon. Check. Get him to eat. Check. The first two items on my to do list arent half as challenging as the third one. Scratching my nose, I contemplated how best to get this plan on the roll. ISYL. I said loud and clear. What? He gave me his amused-of-your-dimwit smirk. I saved your life. And from that premise, we made a deal yesterday. I said. I dont forget. And I know you wont ever let me. He answered. So, I decided to give you a tour of the place. Ms. Braide said you havent been anywhere else, except the hotel and the beach. After 2 months of being here, I didnt add. Nothing to say? I guess that could be a good sign. My phone rang. It was Russ, informing me that the tour group is heading off in 5 minutes. We gotta go. Maybe Im imagining it, but for the first time, he follows my instruction. Finally, Ive broke an ice. Say it, I prompted smugly. He hesitates, but gave me the satisfaction afterwards. Foods delicious. Thank God! A compliment! I so deserve that. I exclaimed. Tank Neuman actually smiled. It looked achingly familiar, for some reason. My mirrored glee turned solemn. What, kid? He noticed the change. Dont call me that. I scowled. Okay. Fetus. Im an extrauterine life form, Phantom.

Phantom. Yeah. Of the opera. I thhink it suits you. But if you want the title Prince of Darkness, so be it. You call me names behind my back? Me and the rest of the world. Very mature.

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