Traces of Midnight Fallacies

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

It was past seven in the morning when I woke up the next day. Dad was gone when I went downstairs, while Mom left a note on the kitchen table. I stared at it while sipping my coffee before I hurriedly headed to the shoe shelf to get my favorite white sneakers.

I didn't have enough time to eat my breakfast, so I decided to get myself a sandwich at the cafeteria when I arrived at school.

I'm almost late when I leave the house. Our neighbors were already at work and the street was quiet when I hurriedly ran to chase the time.

It wasn't late last night when we got home, but it was late when I decided to sleep because mommy and I arranged the goods we purchased last night. If my mother hadn't helped me, it might have taken me midnight to stack it up all.

It’s so hard to wait for a car at the terminal, so I know this is dad’s reason why he bought his car before we moved to this subdivision.

How did I know?

With her memories, of course.

That's why I have an idea about her life because of her memories that re-enter my mind whenever I feel unconscious. Sometimes they passed by in my dreams. I'm grateful because I've gained insight into her life through her memories. If I didn't have an idea about her, maybe they suspected me when they first met me.

Sometimes I thought to myself, "What if I never go back to my world?", "What about Charmaine, especially that I don't have an idea where she is?", "How about my friends here?", "What would happen to them if I ever disappeared suddenly?", "How about Kevin and Celeste?", "What will happen to Lawrence, and what about her feelings for him?"

Sometimes I can't help but to think about Charmaine… the original one and not just her clone like me.

How about her? What will happen to her if I stay here? Where is she? Does she have any idea what happened between us? What if we had exchanged bodies and she is currently in my world now?

Because of my thoughts about her, my step gradually slowed down. I don't know, but it seems like I felt subconcious while thinking about her. Is she suffering in my world? But still, I don't have an idea of where she is right now, and I'm not sure if she's currently living with my abusive parents in real life, but I hope she's not.

She has a good life here, and I enjoy it. I do hope that wherever she is, I hope she's doing good and she is in good hands as of now… just like me with her parents.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts that were gradually forming inside of it. Instead of thinking about that thing, I hurriedly headed to the terminal to wait for a bus.

"You're already late!" the girl beside me said, which made me smile and look at her.

My eyes almost widened when I saw an accident that was going to happen tonight at the terminal where we were. I felt that there was a negative feeling she had and I even saw behind those eyes that she was included in the number of deaths later in the accident. I saw how she tried to stand up when she bumped into the car, but unfortunately, the next car hit her, which led to her death.

She waved her hand, which brought me to my senses. She smiled a bit when I averted my eyes from her. It seems like she is now thinking about how proud I am in front of her. She came to talk to me, but it seems like I still don't know how to answer what she'd been asked.

"It seems like you're not in a good mood, Charmaine," she said, which made me turn to look at her. "See you next time if you have time!" she added before waiting for the bus that the two of us would take.

When she entered the bus, I no longer hesitated to follow her inside. It seems like she has no plans to go to school today because she is not wearing her usual uniform. It looks like she has an errand now and if I don't stop her from her plans, she might die.

She sat at the back of the bus, which made me follow and sit beside her. She didn't care about my actions because she was already busy tapping on her phone. I felt my tongue recede whenever we got closer and closer to school. It's only a matter of time before I need to get off the bus, and until now I haven't informed her of the accident I saw in her eyes.

A few minutes later, she stood up in her seat and turned to me with a smile creeping on her lips.

"I do have an errand today, so I couldn't attend my school," she said, which made me nod. "Please don't tell my mom. She didn't know about this. You know her, Charmaine." She winks at me. "She's a bit strict when it comes to me."

I could do nothing but stare at her before I decided to nod and smile a bit at her. When she saw my smile, I knew that she was already flattered by it. She decided to turn back to me to tell me about getting off the bus, but when I grabbed her hand, I knew that she was confused when she looked at me.

"I know that this is a bit weird for you," I said, which made her face furrow because of so much confusion. "Don't take the yellow bus when you come back. Stop using your phone and don't plug your ears with headphones while walking in the street, "I reminded her of what I had seen earlier through her eyes.

"What are you saying?"

I swallowed hard because of the nervousness that kept running throughout my body. "There was an accident later at the terminal and you were among the victims."

Because of what I said, some passengers turned their attention to us. I tried to warn her but she voluntarily regained my grip before she laughed as if she was mocking what I told her.

"Stop watching k-dramas, Charmaine," she said before she tapped my shoulder and winked at me. "Don't mind me. I can handle myself. Okay?"

She smiled sweetly at me before she turned her back at me and got off the bus. If the button on my side hadn't sounded yet, I might have already passed the bus stop where I was going to get off.

Celeste and I never saw each other again when I came to school. Kevin looked amused when he saw me walking towards him. The professor in front looks like she's not pleased with my late arrival in her class. I did nothing but apologize to her for interrupting her class, which made her nod even though I saw the irritation in her eyes. Later on, after knowing my reasons, she let me come into her class and to cope with her discussion.

Kevin couldn't ask me why I was late because he couldn't add the annoyance of our professor in front. When the discussion finished, my personal reporter, a spokesperson of mine, asked my reason for being late for our first subject this morning.

"It was late when I slept last night," I said, seeming bored with his repeated questions. "And don't ask me why. You already knew that we were shopped last night for the cupcakes, right?"

In the middle of our conversation, Macey interjected again between us that it seemed like she meant to separate us from each other.

"So, you are planning to bake tonight?" she asked, as if she was excited about what we were going to do later. I smiled at her as an answer, which made her smile widely. "I'm so excited to taste your cupcakes again, Charmaine!" she cheered.

I did nothing but smile back at her before I turned to Kevin, who was now busy puckering his lips while looking at me. I jokingly pinched his arm, which made him laugh.

The next class seems like hell. We were flooded with too many activities and quizzes, and of course, I don't think we will lose the pile of homework that needs to be finished until tomorrow. I know that the sleep over that they were referring to me yesterday can no longer be followed because of our activities that we need to pass for tomorrow. Baking seems easy for Charmaine if she's here, and also, she loves chemistry. That's why I know that if she's here with them, I know that she won't be difficult and everything will be easy for her.

If she was here with them…

I sighed heavily while playing with my spoon. Celeste and Kevin kept on blabbering about random stuff, while I, on the other hand, busied myself while recalling the incident that I saw when I looked at her eyes earlier. I didn't have any idea about the persona of that girl, but I did know that her family was close to my family. When I first saw her, I knew that they were residing near our house. I first saw her on my first day here, waving at me with a smile creeping on her lips that I was no longer able to grant a smile because of my anxiety.

I know that Charmaine knows her, and I don't want to keep my mouth shut, especially when I see what is going to happen next to her. I don't want her friends to die because of my stupidity, so that I let her know what I saw behind her eyes. If she thinks that I was insane, then I will gladly accept it as long as she's alive. I don't care if she considers me one of her enemies, so-called friend. I just wanted to help and warned her about what I saw a while ago.

"Why so serious, Charmaine?" Celeste asked while looking at my food that seemed to have been crushed by my spoon. "Are you scared because you forgot how to bake your cupcakes that you were so proud of?" she smirked, which made me roll my eyes as they both laughed.

"Don't worry, Charm. We will help you, "Kevin said before he winked at me. "You don't need to worry yourself because we were here. We can help you and we are always here to support you, no matter what else you're having fun with."

"Even your past relationship with her?" Celeste chuckled when she saw how his reaction changed when she asked. "Don't be so serious, Kevin! I'm just kidding you!"

Kevin smiled fakely at her as if she'd done something wrong to him. "Your jokes aren't funny. Just keep it to yourself if you can."

Just like I expected, there's a heated argument formed between the two of them because of Celeste's joke. If I hadn’t even reminded them about the sleepover that would happen later, there might have been a friendship break up between them. Their heated arguments didn't last long. If I'm not mistaken, it only lasted three minutes because their conversation a while ago seemed like normal for them. I don't intend to quarrel with the two of them, so I just let them go.

"Almonds?" I heard Celeste hiss when Kevin mentioned the almond kisses that he begged me to bake for his parents. "If I were you, I might have boiled some screws and that's what I would stuff in the middle of your daddy's bread!" she brutally suggested.

We were now currently heading down the corridor to our room. They kept on chatting about the buns I would be baking, while I, on the other hand, kept my gaze on the man on the railing in front of our room.

Lawrence was silently leaning against the railings while looking at the vast field. I don't know, but it seems like his side profile matters to him now. He has a pointed nose that is so perfect. If you saw it personally, you might think that he had undergone rhinoplasty surgery even though it was not. He has black hair that shines whenever the sun hits it. He has cute pouty lips. I know that he has these soft and pluffy cheeks that I want to pinch if I have the chance to pinch them.

"Having fun staring at Lawrence, ah?" Celeste almost yelled, which made me embarrassed.

Some students near us laughed at what she said, while Kevin and Celeste continued to tease me. Because of what she yelled, the man I was staring at turned to me. I don't know, but despite his serious stares at me, I saw the ghost of a smile on his lips, especially when he heard Celeste yell.

Instead of confronting him, I hurriedly let myself run into our classroom without looking at my classmates. I know that my face is almost reddened and blushes even more whenever they tease me about my feelings for him. Our afternoon class started again just like usual, and I did nothing but hide my embarrassment until the time came. Our afternoon class started again just like usual.

After our class, we decided to go home temporarily to change our clothes and to bring an extra shirt when we finished baking the cupcakes. Dad, on the other hand, announced that he would be the one who would pick up my friends later at the terminal where we agreed to meet each other.

When we were on our way, the incidents that would happen at the terminal later re-appeared in my memory, so even before we said goodbye to each other, I changed our meeting place again, which made them confused.

"We've agreed at the terminal, Charmaine!" Celeste hissed, but even before she appealed, Kevin agreed to what I wanted.

I changed everything because I didn't want to witness the accident I saw earlier in her eyes. I don't want to witness it because I know that she will never take my warning.

This is because I've finally remembered who she was.

Charmaine's childhood friend.