"How about you? What did you discover while following Paul?"
"He went to Lyca’s grave. And I heard him confess. He is the stalker we’re looking for," I explained.
"So that means he’s also the one using Lyca’s phone and texting you?"
My eyes narrowed. Why do I feel like something is wrong, like there’s still something I don’t know?
"Girls! The varsity team has a game later at the gym! We’ll get to watch Anthony Paul Rosales again!" The girls beside us squealed in excitement. The librarian scolded them, but they kept gossiping.
"Really? A. Paul? OMG! Let’s watch!"
It was like a lightning bolt struck the back of my mind. Then I remembered Lyca’s last words.
"P-poison... P-poison... Apple..."
She wasn’t talking about an apple. Instead, it was "A. Paul." Maybe she was referring to her stalker and her killer. Lyca already knew who her stalker was before she died.
"What's with your expression?" Nica asked.
"Words that sound the same but have different meanings," I mumbled.
"Wait, are you talking about homonyms? What does that have to do with this?"
"You're right. Paul is behind all of this. We need to talk to him."
"How?" Nica asked.
"What if Lyca’s final words in the play were her dying message? I found out she doesn’t ad-lib, and the last words we heard were actually pointing to the person behind everything."
My seatmate frowned again.
"Apple... A. Paul?!"
After lunch break, we returned to the classroom to wait for dismissal. There, we agreed to talk to Paul about Lyca.
"Paul!" I called. He turned to me. "Why?"
"Can we talk?"
"Huh? Sure. About what?"
"About Lyca."
He suddenly paused, clearly shocked. He probably thought we already knew about his involvement.
"What about her? Can we talk somewhere else? Somewhere just the two of us?" he requested.
I looked at my seatmate.
"Why? Are you okay with me not coming along? We’re together in this, Aedrian."
I turned back to Paul.
"Fine. Just the two of us, Paul."
We agreed to meet Paul at the gym after ten minutes. As planned, I waited for him.
"Sorry I took a while."
"Don't mention it."
He smiled.
"What are we going to talk about regarding Lyca?"
"Just two questions. Were you stalking Lyca?"
"I used to. But that doesn’t mean I was the only stalker she had. Being a popular student on campus, it’s possible I wasn’t the only one who admired her."
So he knows I’m looking for a stalker—and he’s trying to remove himself from my list of suspects.
"Do you have her phone?"
"Which phone? The real one or the prop?"
"What do you mean?"
He chuckled.
"Remember what you said? Just two questions..."
He walked away, and I frowned as I watched him leave.
Instead of getting clarity, everything became even more confusing. Why does this puzzle feel impossible to solve?
"Paul, wait..." He looked back at me.
"Did you know Lyca asked me to find her stalker? And for your information, you’re at the top of my list... A. Paul." I grinned.
"You're thinking it wrong, Aedrian. You're blaming the wrong person, just so you know." He chuckled as he left.
I thought classes would be suspended today because of the heavy rain last night. I had even been watching TV for announcements, but it seemed unlikely.
"Son, are you still going to school?" my mom asked as she saw me in uniform.
"Yes, Ma," I answered simply.
I grabbed a sandwich and headed out. I needed to hurry—I didn’t want to end up squatting in class because of Prof. Tobias.
The flood had slightly subsided, so I still rode my bicycle to school, though the road was muddy. Did it really rain that hard last night, or is it still the rainy season?
When I arrived, I noticed only a few students walking around. Maybe most didn’t come today—either they were lazy or it was still too early.
I parked my bike and headed to the building.
Then I noticed students running.
"Hey! Did you hear? Someone supposedly committed suicide in the gym!"
"What? Who? Let’s go!"
"You’re so nosy, girl! We might get involved!"
"We’re just going to look!"
The news hit me hard.
I stopped a girl.
"What’s going on?"
"I know you! You’re that detective from the play and the video! Maybe you can help! A man was found hanging in the gym!"
"What?"
I ran toward the gym.
Why do these deaths keep happening at Laguna University?
I had this strong feeling someone was behind all of it. I didn’t know who yet, but I would find out. These weren’t coincidences anymore.
When I arrived, the gym was filled with students crowding around like it was a show.
"Excuse me," I said, and they made way for me.
I stopped when I saw the man hanging from the basketball ring.
Just last night, he was at the top of my suspect list as the mastermind—but I was wrong.
Why would the mastermind kill himself?
I was blaming the wrong person again. He was another victim.
And right now, I wasn’t sure I could think clearly anymore.
This was becoming overwhelming.
"Don’t come any closer."
I turned.
It was my seatmate.
She was staring at me like I had done something wrong.
"You’re here. Have you been here long? Why didn’t you tell me?"
She didn’t answer my questions.
"I said, don’t come any closer."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"You're at the top of my suspect list, just so you know."