Someone I'm Not

27 [pt.3]| One more help is good

"HEY, STOP YOU TWO!" Soroya and Phoenix were startled too quickly when someone called for their attention. Afraid of who they might see, they both look at each other and talk with their eyes before looking over their shoulder. And if the person seemed suspicious, all they could do was run.

"Vianne?"

"Professor Lucas?" Soroya and Phoenix both speak simultaneously as they didn't expect the people their eyes would meet. They completely turn around to face Vianne and Lucas as Vianne decides to run over to the both of them while Lucas gets out of his car without turning off the engine.

"This road doesn't lead to either where we go home or where you go home, Phoenix." Vianne confronts them as she crosses her hands on her chest. She even raised one eyebrow to intimidate Soroya and Phoenix more.

"Uhm, well, as a matter of fact—" Soroya tried to find a reason but was cut off immediately when Phoenix decided to join the dialogue.

"Were following mister Houdini." Phoenix wasn't in the mood to lie anymore, knowing that this might be something serious. 'What could be his connection to that woman? Or, did something happen that we don't know of?' he even thought to himself while waiting for a reply from Vianne.

"Why?" Vianne asks, and Soroya tries to nudge Phoenix but fails when Phoenix goes too quickly to answer her sister's question.

"Because we thought it's weird that he'll follow a student like Karen."

"Does that bother you?"

"If I would say yes, would you try to stop us from following him?"

Soroya couldn't do anything other than alternately throwing her gaze to both of them, not knowing how to butt in and what to say exactly.

"No, not at all." Vianne loosened her hand as her raised eyebrow came down.

"So, will you let us follow him too?"

"Honestly, I was also looking for him. But I didn't know he's following a student."

"But, we thought you're paired today?" Soroya asks curiously.

"Yes, we are. But I told him I'd go pee over the public restroom near the back gate. When I'm done, he's already nowhere to be found. I asked a student who seemed to have used the other cubicle right next to where I peed, and she told me he's looking over something but wasn't sure what. . . Now, it's all coming down to her." Vianne paused as she started to complete the few parts of the puzzle. "He must have been staring at that woman."

"Do you. . . Do you think mister Houdini is up to no good?" Soroya joins in again, now making the three of them more curious. When Vianne made up her mind, she looked up to them.

"Wait here." she excuses and goes back to where Lucas is standing. They watched how Lucas nodded a few seconds later and went back inside his car. Vianne runs back to Phoenix and Soroya while she catches her breath.

"Where is professor Lucas going?" Phoenix asks, and Vianne doesn't hesitate to reply.

"I told him to head first. It's better if he's not involved if you ask me." Phoenix and Soroya didn't have anything to say rather than nod and agree with what Vianne said.

"Now, let's go and follow Houdini. Let's see if he's up to no good."

On the other hand, Houdini had no clue that someone was following him. He only wanted to face Karen and have a one-on-one conversation with her for all he cared.

He continued to follow her until he noticed that Karen had stopped. She's already facing a dead-end, making Houdini read this as a sign- an opportunity to talk to Karen to clear the air once and for all. Why? Because he wanted to end the bugging curiosity in his system.

"I noticed you've been following me." Karen decided to talk first and slowly turned to face Houdini. There's still that hint of fear and irritation lingering in her eyes, and the more Houdini sees it, the more he wants to talk to her. "Why?"

"Because I sense something different in you." Houdini wasn't a fan of prolonging a conversation that he knew could be shortened. Beating around the bush, they call it? But he didn't care. "Because there's fear in those dark black eyes of yours that makes me want to ask, why?"

Houdini takes a step forward, but Karen has no more actions left for her to take. She's stuck, and she has no choice but to face it. She had to end the curiosity as well.

"Why do I feel like you know something about me? I can already feel that dark energy from the moment we locked gazes at your school canteen. Why? Why would you give me that same gaze that made me want to make you spill something you should be keeping as a secret. . . Or was my instinct of you hiding something is wrong?"

"Why you say. . ." Karen asks as she chuckles, and to Houdini's surprise, the student takes out a box of cigarettes and a lighter from her skirt's secret pocket. She confidently lights the cigarette and puts it in her mouth. A few seconds later and she's puffing smoke. "Our skirts shouldn't have pockets, but because I know that they won't inspect skirts, I asked my tailor to put a pocket in it, so I can hide whatever I want to hide." She exhales smoke once again. "And fortunately for me, I actually can hide what I saw a few days ago in this pocket. If only I kept my mouth shut and tried my best to keep my cool, then maybe, I'm not an alone son of a bitch." She chuckles, but she's trembling, making it evident for Houdini that Karen is shaken.

"What do you mean about what you saw—"

"Oh please, mister, don't play games with me. We both know what I saw that day. I even saw you there, so don't you dare make me look like it was only an illusion. Yes, I am a b***h at school, but I ain't a loser, and I am definitely not someone who had an illness." Karen defended, not wanting their conversation to end like what she had watched in a movie— the person who knew who saw something ended up being a fool because they made her look crazy.

"Ah. Now I remember. That day, huh? But I didn't see you somewhere. All I saw was—" Houdini traveled quickly back in time to recall the scenario. And to his surprise, Karen was indeed there, hiding in a nearby building and listening closely to the conversation. "Can I ask. . . How come you're there? I never recalled even calling you."

"Hah! Just because you're there doesn't mean you should completely forget that you were the ones who are the only visitors there. But, to answer your question, I was there because I was about to pull a prank on a loser classmate I had. She seemed an easy target, and I wanted to test it out. But, before I could even plan my prank, I heard someone talking. Well, something interesting happened that even scared the s**t out of me! But, unlike the others, I was lucky to have taken cover. . . And you know what I saw?"

This time, Karen gained confidence. Her gaze becomes devilishly dark as she takes a step forward. She drops her cigarette and stomps on it.

"What?" Houdini asks as he feels a bit intimidated by the human.

"Something that even science cannot explain," Karen smirks as she steps back, looking over her nails. "And after that, I decided to tell my disloyal bitchy friends about it. Instead of being a supportive gang, they even took the opportunity to ruin me. And now, my class thinks that I'm a psycho or a f*****g b***h who lost her mind because of being too in love with guys that I won't obviously have. That's why I had to endure everything alone."

Karen sighs. Going back to her past is something that she doesn't want to do because she doesn't want to endure the same pain repeatedly. "Was telling the truth this painful? Because if I was oriented back then, then I should have just kept my mouth shut. . . So, if you're worried that I'll spread your little secret as wizards, then worry no more because I don't intend on making the same mistake again."

"Honestly, I wasn't here to tell you to don't spread what you say to anyone else. Yes, it could build a much greater issue for us, but it doesn't scare me at all to be real with you." Karen's eyes opened widely as she didn't expect what she had just heard from Houdini. "Do you really think you're the first to be in that position? No. There were plenty more before you."

"What?"

"Yeah, I know you're now puzzled, but let me assure you something. . . A woman like you getting involved in those scenarios is already expected. Your appearances are already written, and there's no way that you would have changed your faith." Houdini pauses as he takes another step. His hands are inside the pocket of his slacks. "You are, however, the first one to deal with a tragic friendship breakup and endure it all by yourself."

"What is this!? What are you trying to do!?"

"I'm here to help you. . . That is if you're willing to help me."

"What the f**k is this?" Karen laughs as she marches forward and clenches Houdini's collar. "Do you really think I needed any help from you? I'm a bad b***h, mister, and my kind don't need anyone's charity."

"I can make you regain your friend, or I can help you avenge your pain. Your call."

"W-what?"

"One wish is all it takes. But that wish doesn't come for free. You had to pay for it."

"How. . . How much!?" Houdini smirks as he already knows he succeeded. 'Got you.'

"You sound desperate. But, I am not talking about money. . . Because all I need are your hands and your eyes."

"What the—"

"Whatever you're doing, Houdini, stop it!"

Both Houdini and Karen stopped and turned to face Vianne. Houdini's eyes widen to see her, now remembering that he had left her entirely all alone in the public restroom.

"Vianne?" But that doesn't end there, especially when he sees Soroya and Phoenix from behind.

"Y—you! You're all crazy!" Karen runs and pushes Vianne out of her way, leaving Houdini frozen.

"What the heck did you just do. . ." Houdini asks in a low tone as his gaze doesn't fall. "How did you find me, exactly!?"

"Hey, don't you dare be mad at us! I should be mad at you for leaving me there. That's why we decided to follow you here."

"We? Did you just plan on cornering me here?"

"No. We just noticed you for following Karen. And that's why we have to find out what you're up to." Phoenix defended, making Houdini's blood boil.

"So, you thought I was going to do something to her? Unbelievable." Houdini scoffs as he paces back and forth, not knowing what to say. "You humans are really good at judging people, no?"

Everyone's dead silent. No one knew how to respond or what words do they have to say just to make the situation less intense. But, despite giving silence as a sign of guilt, the case didn't get any better when Bret and Nico decided to show up, surprising the rest of the group.

"What the— how did you—" Phoenix asks with wide eyes open, not knowing to grasp the reality that both of his friends are now with them.

"We saw Karen walking past the ice cream parlor where we should be hanging out today, right?" Nico sure sounds mad at the moment. "But then, your cousin here decided to show up, and clearly, he was following Karen. And then, we saw you and Soroya here, walking in the same direction. And then, we even saw mister Lucas's car. So, we figured that we have to do something too."

"No, no, no. You cannot be in here!" Phoenix panics as he walks toward his friends, grabs them on their wrists, and drags them out of the area. That then leaves Soroya, Vianne, and Houdini.

"What happened here, Houdini?" Vianne decided to ask as she stepped forward, a sign that she meant no harm. Houdini, on the other hand, sighed and shook his shoulder.

"She saw what happened. The great separation? She saw it all."

"Oh my goodness."

"And she's being punished for it."

"Physical punishment?"

"No. She just lost her friends." Houdini regains composure and smirks, deciding to look on the bright side. "But I assure you, everything will be okay." He pauses again and walks ahead but stops right beside Vianne. "All she needed is a bit more convincing. . . We wouldn't mind another pair of hands helping out, wouldn't we?"

After throwing a confident question that obviously doesn't need an answer, Houdini left in a blink of an eye, leaving Soroya and Vianne a bit dumbfounded.

"Must we trust him? This time?"