Case No. 0294 "The Missing School"

The ship where Keith and his roommate are continues to sail even if the sun has already risen. They have been sailing in the ocean for a few days or weeks- they do not exactly know how many days since they do not have access to any gadgets and there is no calendar in their room. They are not even allowed to exit their temporary room and their breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner are only delivered to them.

"This is so boring!" His roommate who still has not to introduce himself started to complain, once again.

Keith wanted to remind him that he always says that sentence but decided not to, to avoid misunderstanding.

"You look smart." His roommate with wild and untamed hair spoke.

"Am I?" Keith surprisingly replied with his expressive eyes.

"Yeah, most of my classmates who wear glasses are smart." The roommate spoke.

"I wear glasses because of my vision problem," Keith answered quietly.

"Still, you are smart." His roommate convinced him.

"I am not," Keith spoke with a clenched fist which his roommate notice.

"What is the reason why you enrolled in this kind of school?" His roommate asked.

"By the way, my name is Harrison." Harrison, Keith's roommate, added.

"My parents enrolled me in here because I did not reach their expectations. They are geniuses and valedictorians while I am just average." Keith told Harrison.

"There are different types of intelligence you know," Harrison commented trying to comfort Keith.

"How about you? Why are you here?" Keith asked Harrison ignoring his comment.

"I am here so that my father can hide me. Because he believes that I 'might' give him a bad reputation that can ruin his political career." Harrison told him.

"I was enrolled here the day before the enrollment starts," Harrison added and sighed.

"So, you are just like me. They just throw us here to avoid further embarrassment. A black sheep." Keith told Harrison without giving much thought to his statement.

"Maybe?" Harrison mumbled with a hint of sadness in his voice as he felt offended by Keith's comment.

Harrison felt Keith as someone who cannot read the atmosphere. He felt that Keith does not know how to sympathize with other people or Keith is too hurt by what his family has done to him, nonetheless, Harrison chooses to think outside of the box that Keith might have grown in a household that suppresses their emotions.

He somehow felt pity for Keith as he heard Keith describe himself as a black sheep, it is like Keith had already convinced himself that he is a black sheep and believes that academically gifted is the only acceptable type to be identified as a smart person. Unlike Harrison, who believes that he is also smart but not like others who are academically gifted because he believes that there are different types of smart and sadly people tend to ignore that and focus only on the academic type, and for him, Keith is an example of those type of people.

Harrison brushes his wild and untamed hair using his fingers and grabs a biscuit that he had saved from the snack delivery and starts eating it.

Meanwhile, Keith stares at Harrison who looks so peacefully eating his biscuit. Keith felt uncomfortable with him, he thought that Harrison might be like his parents who thought of his ideas as nonsense. He gulped as he realized he called him a black sheep perhaps Harrison thought of him as someone so low to be compared to him. Keith bit his lip as he felt inferior once again.

Of course, Keith's antics did not go unnoticed to Harrison's observant eyes. Harrison stopped munching as he notices how Keith is so tense. 'He is overthinking' Harrison thought; therefore, he began making a conversation again as if he knows exactly what is going on with Keith's mind and his insecurities.

Harrison's mind started to wonder about new topics except for knowledge and family as his instinct tells him that Keith is uncomfortable talking about intelligence and his family.

"I wonder where this ship is going." Harrison tried making a conversation while staring at Keith with curiosity in his eyes.

"I don't know either, I do not even know if we are still in our country," Keith answered and felt relieved as Harrison began talking again.

"Are we like being kidnaped?" Harrison jokingly said.

"I do not think if we can consider yourself being kidnap because our parents have signed a notarized oath that the school admin will be our guardians until we graduate," Keith told him that made Harrison drop his biscuit.

"You are joking, right?" Harrison asked him yet Keith shook his head indicating his answer as 'no.'

"My father told me that- He lied," Harrison mumbled as he realized that he had been lied to by his father.

"I guess, you are right. They have abandoned us here." He continued.

Harrison gulped as he wonders if his father knows about this thing. Does he know that his son is now riding a ship sailing to an unknown location? Or not? Harrison secretly hopes that his father does not because if he is then it only means one thing, his father wants him to go away from him and his career.

"I told you. We are not wanted." Keith continues without noticing Harrison's sad face despite staring at him.

Harrison looks at Keith's blank face, he looks so done and perhaps already numb.

"It hurts, you know," Harrison told Keith asking for comfort but what he gets is Keith's pained expression and look down as his tears fall. Harrison began to join Keith's crying; how can he expect Keith to comfort him if Keith also does not know how to express nor comfort himself?

On the other hand, Benedict who had his luggage in the car's trunk has entered the car and sat alone in the backseat while his mother sat beside his father at the front.

"Can we visit Keith before going to Manila? Please." He begged as they are near the toll gate.

"Fine." His mother softly spoke who has still remembered his youngest son's outburst when they send him to Pampanga, in his new school.

"Yeah, hopefully, he had enough time to think what he had done the last meeting." His father said and started the car's engine and began driving to Pampanga.

After an hour of driving, the remaining members of the Buenaventura Family have finally arrived at their destination.

"This is not the location, Dad," Benedict told him.

"It is the location is saved in my phone." The father told his son.

"But why the surrounding is so different?" The mother asked then gulped as she suddenly felt nervousness which she does know where it is coming from.

Benedict opened the door and exited the car, his parents followed him after locking the car's door. The family notices a crowd of people, some are crying, some are busy calling with panicked faces, and some are unconscious.

"What is happening? Where is the school that makes geniuses?" Benedict asks someone in the crowd.

"We do not know my daughter is there. We have been waiting for the school to come back since April 7, the day after the enrollment." The mother who is holding a bag filled with food said.

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Buenaventura asked the wailing mother.

"The school is gone since April 7 in the morning! They took our children!" The mother yelled and started to sob harder.

"Perhaps, we have got the wrong location." Mrs. Buenaventura claimed and is about to leave the place with her hands in her chest trying to calm her nervousness.

"Detective Santos is coming!" They heard someone shout and then they saw a detective going towards the crowd.

Benedict runs to the detective, together with his parents.

"According to the CCTV near the crime scene. The school named School of Geniuses has left the province on 2 in the morning, April 7, 2019, by ship travel." Detective Santos announced to the concerned family.

"According to the research, the fifty students who have enrolled in the school last April 6, 2019, kidnap. We are still investigating and gathering information whether if the School Administration is involved in a criminal organization." Detective Santos continued.

"We wish for parents to leave their contact information to us and cooperate with the investigation." Detective Santos added.

"No. This is not true." Benedict mumbled, how he wishes his younger brother will come out and say it is a prank just like what he watches on social media whenever he has free time.

"You said it was the best decision for him." Benedict muttered and stare at his parents, "Was it for him or you?" He added.

His eyes widen as he witnesses his mother's tears continue to fall like a faucet.

"Keith, my son." Mrs. Buenaventura gasp and sob. If she could turn back the time, she will not mutter nor compare Keith to anyone again.

"Call our friends, call the police, lawyers, and everyone who can help us in searching for Keith!" His mother yelled at his husband who is busy suppressing his tears and calling people through his phone.

"I am doing it!" Mr. Buenaventura cannot stop cursing whenever people denied his calls.

But then, Mr. Buenaventura had dropped his phone as he remember signing a document that permits the school to become his son's guardian until he graduates.

"Why did you stop?" Mrs. Buenaventura asked and picked up the call to continue calling.

"What is it, Dad?" Benedict had just finished posting the issue on social media hoping that the issue will be viral so that more people will help to find the missing students.

"I signed a document, there is this document that permits the school to be Keith's guarding until he graduates." His father told while massaging his nape and has a stressful and panicked expression.

"I made a mistake." Mr. Buenaventura mumbled with tears in his eyes while his wife, sat on the ground while crying over her youngest son. Her conscience began to fill her stomach and she felt like vomiting as she remembers her last conversation with Keith especially with her statement that if she could choose, she would want Dave to be her son and not Keith. Oh, how much she regrets saying those words.

Benedict stared at his parents, he wanted to ridicule them just like how they ridicule him and Keith whenever they made a mistake but how could he? Especially if he can witness how panicked they are currently. It is just saddening that Keith needed to kidnap them before they realized their mistake.

"He hates us. He will never forgive us." Mrs. Buenaventura muttered while clenching her fist in her hair, like punishing herself for what she has done.

"Don't make our house in Bulacan on sale. I will be staying there not in Manila because Keith's memory is still there. I will wait for him to come back in the house." Benedict told his parents then went towards Detective Santos to give his contact information.

Detective Santos grabbed Benedict's contact card as he watches every family crying and yelling their child's name. But Buenaventura Family catches his eyes the most as he witnesses the extreme regret of his parents and how desperate can they be to turn back the time.

He sighed as he grabbed the folder, he stared at its content and felt relieved that he did not tell the public if the school administration is involved in a criminal organization because if he did, the situation of the families will be much worse.

"I just hope it is not too late." He whispered and stared at the former location of the school then to the case number 0294 named The Missing School.

On the other side, the ship that the missing students are currently boarding has stopped on a remote island, and no one knows where they are.

Keith with his eyes blindfolded follows the guidance of the person with cold hands holding his left arm.

"Where are we?" He heard Harrison asks the person beside them.

"Sit." The person coldly said and Keith and Harrison immediately felt a vacant seat behind them. The person they are with removes their blindfolds as they sat on their seat.

Keith frowned while Harrison's eyes widen as they say they are in a theatre-like building together with other students. They stared at the stage and found a woman with middle-length hair wearing a lab coat standing in the middle of the platform.

"Welcome! Geniuses in the making." The woman announced and smiled mysteriously.