Entry #32: Betrayal

A bone-chilling echo panned through my ears. I was in disbelief and in denial.

Why was it Nick's birthday again? Because Angel liked him?

But why was he never mentioned in her diary? Maybe because she used the code S.T. instead of stating his name?

What could S.T. mean? Love? Honey?

Sweetheart?

Sweetheart?! S.T?

"The list! Give me the list, Jas," Simon said in a hurry.

Jasmine frowned in confusion. "What list?"

"List of people who weren't in school on October 3."

I searched my pack bag for the list. "Found it! What do you need it for?"

Simon urgently said, "Count them."

"What?"

"Count them," he repeated.

I counted the names like he said. "Ten. Ten? You said there were eleven people!"

"I crushed out one name 'cause I trusted everyone."

I wasn't sure where Simon was going, but I was nervous.

He looked at Nick, shoulders heavy and his face shocked. "You're the eleventh."

My head spiraled, and my knees throbbed. I held my head because it suddenly felt heavy and spacious. I felt like passing out.

What was going on?

No…

Impossible…

The sense of betrayal overwhelmed me.

I stared at Nick, hands shaking and heartbeat deafening. "You're S.T.?"

I hated how he didn't even blink when I looked at him. I hated how he looked unbothered and how he stood confidently.

He suddenly smirked, and chills crept all over my body.

Nick had a devilish and condescending grin as he said, "Am I?"

I staggered at where I stood. I could literally feel my body going cold. "I don't want to suspect you, but–"

"You don't want to suspect me, but you already are," he countered.

His point zipped my mouth.

There was one thing I highly refused to take at that moment. The betrayal of a friend. And I wanted to trust Nick, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but…

But…

"But how would you explain the passcode?" Simon pointed out. "You said you were in school that day, met Patricia, and everything, but why weren't you in the records?"

“What exactly is happening here?” Sir Aresso looked as confused as I was.

I forgot that the teacher was still in the room. The spotlight on him suddenly shifted to Nick.

"I was in school, but I never said I went through the school's gate. I was late that day. The main gate was closed. And there is a policy in our school that whoever comes late to school during the exam will not be allowed to take the first period."

His explanation lessened the weight of suspicion, but it didn't completely erase it.

Simon supplicated, "And the passcode?"

"I really don’t know. I swear." Nick looked at me. "I was as surprised as you when it opened."

I looked away, guilty that my trust in him easily cracked like that.

"There must be something about that date. Special enough to Angel," I guiltily said, trying to look everywhere but Nick's eyes.

Nick was clearly upset. "Why? Am I the only person on earth who was born that day?"

I had to keep in mind that Sir Aresso was still in our midst. Another problem. We confronted the wrong person again.

I bowed my head to him. "Sir! I am so sorry! We are so sorry, Sir!"

I had to explain effectively without giving away too much detail.

He looked at us with genuine worry. "Guys, this is dangerous. What has gotten into you to be running around looking for a killer? Let's take this to the police."

"No, Sir," Simon disagreed. "Unless we give them enough reason, they won't open a cleared case."

The club moderator must have seen the gleam in our eyes. He knew we were determined to crack the case.

Sir Aresso left the room unscathed. Roxanne peeked at the door with confused eyes.

"Not what I expected at all. I honestly thought we'll be shedding some blood," she said. "What's with the tension?"

No one answered.

Then Nick coldly said, "I'm leaving."

He picked up his bag, turned his stern back at us, and headed to the door.

"Nick, wait! Wait!"

He didn’t look back and disappeared.

"And now he's mad!" I pulled my own hair in frustration.

"What happened here?" Rox asked.

I wasn't in the mood to answer. I dropped my butt in the chair, questioning our entire investigation.

What did we miss? Where did we go wrong?

I felt like we were in a maze this entire time, trying to find a way out. And now, I felt like we were back to where we started again.

"Now, what do we do?" I muttered aloud, truthfully lost.

I sat quietly and looked around the quarters. The mystery circled around the club. There must be something in the club that would give us a clue.

My eyes grazed the sight of the shelf. I subconsciously looked at it again though I wasn't sure why my eyes did that.

I walked near it.

"What did I miss? Were there clues I didn’t see?"

That was when I remembered the photo. I hurriedly took the albums and scrapbooks from the shelf and flipped through every page to find the photocard.

"What are you looking for?" Simon asked.

"A photocard. Help me find it."

"What photo are we looking for? At least give me an idea."

I looked at him and replied, "Angel's photo."

We checked, double-checked, and re-checked. But it was nowhere to be found.

"Where did it go?"

'Did Sir Aresso take it?'

'But what if Nick is actually who we have been looking for? What if he's S.T.?'