IDENTITY: THIRTEEN

MAICA POV

Today was the 11th day since someone orchestrated my abduction. I was sure Mama and Alex were extremely worried by now. I hope they've received my text. I have endured several slaps because of that.

"Hey! Have you eaten?" a man called out as he dropped a food tray. I had no choice but to eat. I needed to eat to survive. I never knew their plan, but I knew they needed Alex. I learned that Alex was their target, which is why they kidnapped me. Whatever Alex has, I'm sure it's crucial.

"Where is she?" a familiar voice asked. I felt like I'd heard the voice before, but I couldn't recall whose it was.

"She's here," the man who recently gave me food pointed to me.

Successive footsteps echoed throughout the entire place. Each click of the heels created irritating soundwaves. I looked outside my cell until an unexpected person appeared.

"Richard Osaka?"

"Hello, Maica."

No wonder his voice sounded familiar to me. I never thought, among all the potential criminals, he would be the one to kidnap me. Alex was right; this man was up to something terrible. Now I understand where Trisha inherited her tendencies.

"What do you want from me?"

"Need something from you? No, no, no, no. We don't need anything from you, Maica. But for your friend, we do," he corrected.

"Then why me? Why not take him instead?" I asked angrily.

"This kid is really clever," he sarcastically praised. "Why indeed you and not him? Hm."

"If this has something to do with me and Trisha, then you're such an immature man," I suspected.

Richard sighed. "Poor, Maica. You are indeed clueless about your friend. Now tell me, Maica, why did you make friends with that guy who killed someone ten years ago?"

"I don't care about that!" I replied angrily. "And I also don't care if my friend has a dark past!"

"What a strong friendship. Let's see if you can maintain your friendship once you discover who and what your friend truly is," he challenged and then left.

Tsk. What a pathetic man. If he thinks he can brainwash me with his words, he's wrong. I'm not the type of person who easily believes in things.

******

ALEX POV

"Can I finally go to sleep? I'm exhausted!" I complained after levitating a sofa chair. At first, I was levitating light, but as time passed, the objects became larger and heavier, lifted by Sky.

"Fine. Let's continue tomorrow," he declared, which pleased me.

"Thank you!" I celebrated and then lay on the sofa I had been sitting on. It was an outstanding achievement for me to be able to do all those things. Believe it or not, in just 2 hours, I managed to levitate the things Sky gave me! I'm even more excited about what he will teach me next.

I was about to close my eyes when I noticed Sky was still busy with something on the screen table. Wasn't he tired yet? He's been there for a while.

"Go to sleep. I'll follow later," I told him.

"What are you so engrossed in?" I didn't receive his reply, as he was intensely focused on his work. So, I decided to approach him and personally find out what he was doing. When I reached the screen table, I quickly spotted a map similar to his laptop's. Four different color-coded lines were connected to a fixed, red dot—the location of Maica.

"What are these lines?" I asked in amazement.

"Possible routes to Maica," Sky replied directly.

"Why so many?"

"We need every safest and possible entry and escape route. However, I don't know where they are."

"Let me see." I carefully examined the map to figure out its location. There were four possible routes, and all of them were close to the plaza. "You want the safest way, right?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Okay. The blue one is unsafe," I pointed to the blue line. "This will lead directly to the river. That means—"

"The water current is strong," Sky added.

I nodded. "Correct. As for the yellow one, it's safe, but we'll have a problem. This is a restaurant; I assume the exit is in the kitchen. I'm sure they'll report us if they see us leaving there."

Sky agreed with a nod and then pointed to the green line. "We'll have more trouble there. It's right in the middle of the road. We'll be in deep trouble if we exit there."

"How about this one?" he pointed to the purple line. I stared at the starting point of the line and identified its location.

"That's the Municipal Hall," I answered.

Sky nodded several times as if he had a good idea. "Looks like I know where we'll exit."

******

Sky and I were on our way to school, and it seemed like there was a slight change in the atmosphere today. After what I did yesterday, I was sure no one would talk to me, which was good because I didn't want to talk to them either.

"Car. On your right," Sky said telepathically. I turned my head in the direction he mentioned, and indeed, the same black car from last night was waiting just outside the school. I couldn't see the inside due to the heavily tinted windows. I just stared at it, sure they were also staring at me. As I approached the gate, I avoided eye contact and focused on walking.

As expected, some students were staring at me, gossiping openly—just a usual college gossiping scenario. But I didn't pay them any mind. They would have been a waste of time if I had engaged with them. After all, I was used to being talked about.

"And you still have the nerve to come in, murderer."

Seriously, this early in the morning, she's already annoying.

"Hi, Trisha," I greeted her sarcastically. I glanced at her and was amused to see the two bodyguards behind her. For some unknown reason, I suddenly burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at, murderer?"

"Nothing," I replied while trying to stifle a laugh. But I failed. "I just can't believe that you went here with those." And my laughter escalated.

"Stop laughing!" she shouted angrily, trying to suppress my laughter again.

After finally stopping laughing, I looked at her with a devious look. "Soon, Trisha, soon." I could feel her trembling from the inside. She was scared, but she wouldn't show it.

The school bell rang, breaking the tension we built. I quickly left, leaving the brat behind. I couldn't waste my first-period class because of her. She's not worth it. We reached our class, and guess what? All eyes were on me. Fortunately, Prof hasn't arrived yet.

I just ignored them and took my seat. Sky followed suit and sat in his chair. I sat down, waiting for Prof to enter.

"You know, girl, it seems you were right."

Here they go again.

"See? I told you."

"But why wasn't he imprisoned?"

"You're an idiot, girl. He was still a minor then, so he wasn't jailed."

"And Papa said they didn't have enough evidence that Alex killed him because they didn't find any fingerprints on the victim's neck."

"This is creepy."

"You said it."

These girls and their gossip. Early in the morning, they were already gossiping. They were mistaken if they thought I'd be affected by their comments.

I was about to leave when Prof suddenly entered. He greeted the class, and we welcomed him back. Right after, he began his discussion about Deontology. It was kind of interesting because it dealt with our duty and obligation as humans.

"So, can anyone tell me the difference between duty and obligation?" I looked around the class, and no one dared to answer—except for this guy.

"In simplest terms, duty is a given task in which you can mediate. It means you still have a choice whether you do it or not. However, this choice must be associated with pure and moral reason, while obligation is necessary. It is simply a task that you don't have a choice but to do it." I stared at him in shock. I never thought he would answer. It was his first time, and he didn't even seem nervous.

"Nicely said. Sky is right..."

"Sky is really good."

"You're right about that, girl."

"Sky is perfect! Handsome, decent, intelligent."

"Whoever becomes his girlfriend is lucky."

"Agree!"

"Girls! What's with all the noise?!"

Karma is a bitch, girls! That's what you get! You're so shameless! Fantasizing about Sky? Crazy. I wonder what they ate for breakfast to have acted like this. He's handsome, decent, and intelligent but still lacks emotions. I don't know about you, but I doubt he still can like someone.

"Thank you for the compliments, Alex," he suddenly said, catching my attention. He gave this 'I don't have an emotion' look and then faced Prof again. I just rolled my eyes and focused on the class.

******

Sky and I checked the possible routes for entering and exiting Maica's location. We started with the drainage since it was close to the school.

"Are they following us?" I asked with concern.

"Positive," my companion replied, heightening my worries.

"You know, Sky, why don't you teach me now? Like that clairaudience and mind-reading thingy you always do," I requested, emphasizing how irritated I was when he read my thoughts in class earlier.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm definitely sure."

"You're not planning to read my mind, right?"

"I'll think about it."

"Fine. But I'll teach you at the restaurant."

"Okay, Master."

We continued walking until we reached the mentioned drainage pipe. By the looks of it, it was indeed not safe. We casually leaned against the fence, pretending to take a break so as not to arouse suspicion from those following us while we studied the area.

Sky grabbed his backpack and took out a tablet. Sometimes, I wonder where he gets all his gadgets.

"The river current is too strong underneath," he reported.

"That means this option is eliminated."

"Okay, let's go."

We continued walking until we reached the green spot. It was right in the middle of the road, so it was automatically eliminated as a choice. The next stop was the restaurant, and it was perfect because I was hungry. We entered without hesitation.

"There!" I pointed to an empty table near the window. We immediately went there and sat down. Once seated, I grabbed the menu and selected something to eat.

"Sir?" Sky called a server. A server in his 20s came with a notebook and pen. "One of this, please, and change the drinks to orange juices."

"Okay, sir," the server replied, jotting down my companion's order. "Anything to add, sir?"

"Nothing. That's all."

"Okay, sir. Food will be ready in 5 minutes."

I frowned when the server left without asking for my order. I looked at Sky, but he just shrugged.

"You didn't even ask for my order," I complained.

"It's my treat, so don't complain."

"Wow, thanks!" I sarcastically replied. I closed the menu and put it on the table. I just looked out the window, forcing myself to enjoy the less-than-pleasant view.

"Do you still want to learn?" the cheeky guy asked. I faced him and sat properly. Despite my annoyance, I still needed to learn this.

"I can't teach you verbally because there are many ears around, so I'll do it this way." I nodded in acknowledgment because I would look stupid if I answered myself. "Okay, I'm going to teach you clairaudience first. Just like in telekinesis, all you have to do is visualize. But this time, you're not going to use the atoms. You need to visualize a sound wave coming from the target and sync into it." Again, I nodded to show I understood what he said. "Once you learn it, then telepathy will come easy for you. Now, please excuse me." And he stood up and left, leaving me alone.

"They're such a cute couple," I heard a woman from the adjacent table behind me say.

"I never thought that a gay couple could be this cute."

Wait? Are they referring to me and Sky? That's not right! It will never be right!