Entry #33: Classic problem solver

I rolled my eyes while looking at Nick's back. He was walking in front of me alongside Simon.

So unfair!

"Why is he doing this to me?" I complained to Rox. "He's okay with Simon instantly, but not me. How's that fair? Simon suspected him as I did."

When she giggled, I nearly lost my cool. I attempted to slap her but… god.

I raised an eyebrow. "Funny?"

She shook her head. "I dunno, sis. Maybe your betrayal is more painful than Kuya Simon's betrayal? Who knows, who knows," she said with a cheeky grin.

"How and why?"

She shrugged. "I think I should stop liking Kuya Nick. I quit."

What was she grumbling about?

When we reached our house, Rox insisted on leaving instantly. Which was out of the ordinary. She would've fought her way to stay until Nick left.

Strangely, Simon also left, which made the surroundings awkward with just Nick and me. We were standing in front of each other, but I never dared look him in the eye.

The silence was deafening, and I couldn't bear it for another second. So I broke the ice.

"Until when are you planning to keep on ignoring me?"

He hissed. "Would you be fine if I suspected you?"

"No, but–" I groaned. "Fine. I'm sorry, okay?"

I immediately looked away because apologizing made me cringe. My apology sounded insincere, but in my terms, that was the sincerest I could go.

I heard him sigh loudly, so I gazed at him.

He dropped the backpack to the ground. I didn't know what in the strangest world went on his mind because he held my shoulders and embraced me.

That was the strangest thing I had ever felt in my entire life. I felt like tiny needles were poking my entire body. It was weird and strange and just weird.

"I'm sorry that I gave you reasons to suspect."

I was muted by the needles all over my body.

"It's fine if the world thinks I'm a bad person. Just not you, Jasmine. I care a lot about what you think."

When I couldn't bear the discomfort, the cringe, the awkwardness anymore, I pushed him away. And I could swear I wasn’t myself when I swung a punch straight to his face.

I gasped. He cupped his hurt face. The two of us stared at each other in sheer disbelief.

I punched him. Oh my god!

So I ran away from the crime scene.

**

SIMON'S POV

I handed a bottle of mango juice to her. She took it but didn’t drink it.

I rubbed my palms together, wet my chapped lips, and swallowed hard many times. I felt uncomfortable talking with her, but Jasmine insisted I must be the one to do this.

"We want to see Angel's mom. We're left with nothing, and we're back to having no clue where to dig again."

She fixed her loose curly hair at the back of her ears. Then she met my gaze.

I pulled myself back and held my breath, desperate for a distance, though she never leaned closer to me.

"We– we– Patricia, we just–"

I slapped my mouth mentally. I hated it when I looked stupid like this in front of people.

She stared at me intently. Her eyes had this mysterious all-knowing look in them. Like she knew what I wanted from her.

She pulled out a notebook and a pen from her bag, wrote something on it, tore the page, and gave it to me.

"That's where she lives."

I was so surprised she gave me what I needed before I could tell her. She stood up and gave the juice back to me. "It looks like you need it more than I do."

I blushed when she said that.

Ugh! Embarrassing!

I folded the paper and placed it inside my wallet. I met the team in our usual spot when the class was over.

"Are you okay, sis?" Rox said while fondling her braided hair.

"Huh?" Jasmine was confused.

"Your face is red all over."

I heard Nick scoff. "People might think you're the one who got punched."

Punch? What happened?

Jasmine glared at Nick.

"I'm fine," she insisted.

I placed the back of my hand on her forehead. Weirdly, she jumped in surprise, and her face got redder.

"Are you sick?" I asked.

"No!"

It was me who got startled this time. Did I do something wrong? Was she mad at me? Why did she yell at me?

"Did something happen between you two yesterday?" Rox asked her sister. "Why can't you look Kuya Nick in the eye?"

I eyed Nick, and he was looking at Jasmine, who, in return, looked somewhere else awkwardly.

"Anyway, did you talk to Patricia? Did you get it?" She cleverly dodged the question by asking me about Patricia.

I pulled the paper from my wallet and put it on the table.

"Nice!" she exclaimed.

She fondly messed up my hair, which shocked me. Jasmine somehow had the ability to fluster me.

"Let's do it this Saturday," she declared.

Everyone agreed to the plan.

"Also," I added, "we need to research things about the Garossa Factory."

Jasmine agreed to me. "We might find something if we do a little digging. So this weekend, let's divide ourselves. Two people should talk to Angel's mother, and two should dig up the factory. It's efficient that way."

Roxanne grinned naughtily. "If it's by two, then–"

"I'll go with Jas!"

Nick and I instantly looked at each other when we said it at the same time.

"I want to see Angel's mom," I reasoned.

"Well, I wanna see her too," he insisted.

"In that case, why don’t you two go together?" Rox suggested.

No!

"But I wanna be there," Jasmine said. " I want to meet Mrs. Reyes."

Rox clapped her hands once. "Okay! I have a solution for you guys. To decide who gets to go out with my sister–" She faked a cough. "I mean, who gets to go with her to see Angel's mom, I propose you guys do the classic problem solver."

"The classic problem solver?" Nick asked.

"Rock, paper, scissors," Rox answered.

Nick despised the idea, but we did it anyway. I played paper, and he played rock.

Nick was competitive in any aspect, even on trivial things. I understood the frown he gave as I celebrated victory in secret.

"Guys, let's promise each other one thing," Jasmine said.

The wind blew her shaggy fluffy hair, revealing her entire face. I touched my chest because I nearly stopped breathing.

Uh-oh, what was that, Simon? Why did you react like that?

"Let's not suspect each other again," sincerely, she begged.

“We are a team. And trust is a must," Nick added.

Roxanne jumped like a kid while clapping her hands. "Group hug! Group hug!"

Although we never agreed, she pulled us together for a group hug.

Out of the blue, Nick said, "But I wanna go out--I mean go with you." He was looking at Jasmine.

I glued all my attention to Jasmine's reaction to that doubled-meaning slip of the tongue. Opposite to what I expected, she grinned naughtily at Nick and threw her hand around my shoulder.

"Well, sorry, dude. You lost the rock, paper, scissors, remember?"

Jasmine was the densest detective I had ever known. How would she solve mysteries if she couldn't take simple hints like that?