Someone I'm Not

25 [pt.2]| Grouped to realize

[Continuations]

[Eduardus and Vianne]

'Mom, this sandwich is DELICIOUS! How did you make them?' A curious kid asks his mother about how she made a delicious sandwich that, for him, was the best he had ever tasted in his life. He was exaggerating, but the amount of surprise and joy brought by that simple sandwich made his mother's heart flutter. The child's mother placed down the napkin she was holding and called for her son to approach her. The kid, who is very excited to know how his mother made the sandwich, quickly runs over to his mother and sits beside her. Now, his mother grabbed her unfinished sandwich and turned to face her kid.

You see this brown inside your sandwich?"

"Hmm?"

"That's peanut butter, sweetie. And this thing below is what we call jelly."

"Whoa! How come they're so deliciously combined? I didn't know this existed!" His eyes widened with surprise, making his mother chuckle.

"You know, when I was a kid, my mother would always make me buy a loaf of bread. We would slice those loaves of bread when we got home, and she would separately fill them with peanut butter and jelly. I was only contented with eating the bread with peanut butter and jelly alone back then. But then, one day, when loaves of bread got cheaper and sold for free 2 smaller hot loaves of bread, mom got us almost too many that could last us for five days. She told me to slice them up, and I did, and she would fill them again. And then, when I was about to pick a slice of bread with different fillings, it became a bit hard for me to choose which one. And because I was hungry to decide, I chose them both, not caring if the fillings would combine and end up disappointing. But then, when I took my first bite, there was a party in my mouth. I can't explain how delicious it was. That's why I told my mother about it. . . And from then on, we started eating them combined."

"Wow! That is so cool, mom!"

"I know, right?" they both chuckled for what felt like a good five seconds before his mother spoke again. "And you know what I got to learn from it?"

"Hmm?" the kid asks as he takes another bite of his sandwich. His mother smiled and looked deep into his eyes.

"That the greatest experiences in life happen when you decide to break free from what you used to do. Because these experiences hide right behind your comfort zone to invite you to discover. . . And that's what I want you and your baby brother to embody." the kid smiled and extended his hand to reach for his mother's big tummy.

"Don't worry, mom! I will help my brother grow up, just like you would want us to grow!" The cloud didn't seem in sync with them as they shared smiles. Because at that moment, when they looked up, the cloud started to cry cold grains.

--

"Holy s**t!" Eduardus was back to reality, and now, he's breathing unsteadily.

"Eduardus, are you okay?" Vianne quickly set aside her sandwich and closed the gap between them just so she could check him up. When Eduardus turned to his shoulder for their eyes to meet, they only realized how close they were to each other.

"H-how. . . How are you doing this to me?" Eduardus asks, making Vianne confused. Eduardus instantly grabs Vianne by her arm, tightening his grip on it. "What are you doing? What are these things that I'm seeing?"

"Eduardus, I don't- I don't know what you're talking about," Vianne replies. And before Eduardus could even answer back, the cloud surprisingly turned gray as it started to pour droplets of rain. "Oh my goodness. Seriously now!?" Vianne scoffs, stands up, and picks up her backpack and an unfinished sandwich before turning to Eduardus. Eduardus is now looking down on his sandwich since both elbows are resting near his knees. "Hey Eduardus, let's go!"

He didn't budge. Instead, he continuously sat there until the droplets of rain became bigger. Vianne, who didn't want to leave Eduardus behind, decided to sigh and sit back, her right shoulder brushing his left shoulder. Surprised by their proximity, Eduardus looks up to meet Vianne's gaze, only to see him looking up in the sky. "You missed the rain, didn't you?"

It was supposed to be a simple question. But, for Eduardus, he damn well knew the answer to that question.

"Honestly? I can't even remember what it felt like to be in the rain. Was it cold? Hot? Strong? Small? How many droplets does it take for you to get completely wet? What happens after you get soaked with rain? Does fever exist after playing under the cries of the clouds? Was getting wet worth it to dry your clothes after? Was it—" Eduardus stops mid-sentence when he feels something warm on top of his hand. Looking down, he was surprised to see Vianne's hand on top of his; now, she was giving it a gentle squeeze.

"How about we find out all the answers to your questions now?"

"What?" Eduardus, even though he understood what Vianne meant, still decided to ask the one-word question most ordinary people ask. Instead of getting a word of reply, Vianne searched for an excellent spot close to them to hide her bag to save what was inside. Locating a good site beside the garbage can, she places it down and stands up, not letting go of Eduardus's hand. With a bright smile on his face, Eduardus smiled back and stood up, following her command. And just like kids, they played in the rain, not caring about the people around them.

'Was it worth it?' Eduardus asked himself. 'Definitely.'

•••

[Continuation]

[Houdini and Phoenix]

"Hello, gentlemen. I'm Houdini, Phoenix's cousin."

"Cousin? No way!"

"For real?"

"Yeah, he's not—"

"How come you're handsome and my friend, not, mister Houdini?" Nico asks, making Houdini's grin bigger.

"I agree. And you look so cool, and my friend over here looks freaking exhausted?" Bret agreed as he turned to Phoenix, who now felt uneasy about just fixing his position.

"Yeah. Well, too bad, this fine man is not—" Phoenix tried to interrupt the conversation, but Houdini spoke before finishing his sentence.

"Well, I don't know. Either your friend's genes were to blame, or he just doesn't know how to take care of himself. I mean, look at him!"

"Hey! Just because you always wear these expensive-looking suits doesn't mean you'll forever hide your real identity."

"Ohhh."

"That's some serious shit."

"And what exactly are you on REAL IDENTITY?" Houdini challenged Phoenix, feeling nervous about what he might answer. Phoenix shrugs his shoulders and replies.

"I don't know. I just had the feeling that what you're showing us now is not who you truly are, or maybe you're just so good at fooling others."

Phoenix ended the conversation with that statement, hitting Houdini straight. The four of them became silent, and Nico and Bret must have had the feeling of regret about joining the table and making fun of their friend.

"PRANK! IT'S A PRANK! HAH! FOOLED YOU," Phoenix pushes Nico gently to the shoulder first. "And fooled you, too." he goes Bret next. Houdini laughed along with Phoenix, hoping he didn't sound too obviously fake because of it.

"Yeah, that's a good one, Phoenix. . . A really, really good one." Houdini agreed, emphasizing his last phrase. Phoenix winks in his direction, a sign that what Phoenix might have said earlier was not a joke at all.

"You two! How couldn't I fall for that? It felt so intense and REAL!" Bret chuckles, obviously not noticing that the tension was still there. The same goes for Nico.

"So, Mister Houdini, here is not your cousin?"

"No—" Phoenix was about to speak up and tell the truth when Houdini cut him off again.

"I am his cousin."'Do you like to play this game, kiddo? Then, let's play.' Houdini thought to himself. But as his eyes wandered around the cafeteria, he noticed someone strangely looking around, as if it was his first time going there. But then, like the woman wearing the same uniform finds her gaze locked on his, her expression changes, and she quickly gets out of the area.

"Who is that woman?" Houdini asks as he points his hand to the woman, quickly walking out of the cafeteria. Luckily, the three men could catch a glimpse at her figure.

"Oh, that woman? She's Karen. We had the same class at ten o'clock." Bret replies, while Nico and Phoenix stay silent.

"Yeah. Just an acquaintance. I sometimes bump into her in the hallways, though. She seems so reserved yet intensely serious," Nico admitted. Now, all three pairs of eyes are on Houdini.

"Why? What's the matter?" Phoenix asks as he quickly gets that something is definitely happening.

"O-oh, it's nothing! She seemed lonely and in a hurry, though. Maybe I just found that weird for a college student." he chuckles, but Phoenix already knew something was up with him and Karen.

"Yeah. That woman had been alone for maybe two days now. Well, since then, her friends decided to backstab her. Poor girl."

On the other hand, Houdini wanted to follow the woman, but he knew that he could not do it just yet unless Houdini wanted them to notice that he found the girl suspicious. But, Phoenix already knew, and he wished to find out what was going on in Houdini's head.

•••

[Resume]

[Philip and Soroya]

"What the hell are you doing here? And who is this woman you're with?"

"And I was about to ask the same question. Who is this man?"

"I asked you first. Who is this woman?"

"He's Phoenix's friend. You don't remember? She just asked me to join her today here at the thrift shop because she needed to buy. . . Yeah, to buy a hoodie! And what about you?"

"Well, clearly, I was trying to reach you because I needed a man's advice, but I am directed to voicemail. That's why I called him. . . Keller, this is my boyfriend, Philip. And Philip, this is Keller, my sister's boyfriend."

"Y-you're sister's boyfriend?"

"Yeah. . . Why—oh! You thought I was cheating, didn't you?" Philip was guilty, and so was his girlfriend.

"Yeah. I thought you were dating someone behind my back."

"Well, you're not the only one who has thought wrong. I also imagined you dating this woman; she looks too young for you, though, but I ended up thinking badly. I was also preparing to slap you, but I just couldn't, you know?"

'Urgh, finally! I thought I was going to watch a live breakup just now. Good thing everything's settled.' Soroya sighs in relief when she hears them flirting with each other. Knowing that they'd already talked and cleared things out, Soroya knew that there would be no more distractions that could prolong their mission. After talking, Philip returns with a donut in his hand while he extends his other hand to give her the other donut. Soroya eyed him mysteriously.

"Oh, chill! My girlfriend is not who you think she is. In fact, she's loving! She even gave us donuts and wished us good luck on our mission."

"You told her about the mission!?"

"Well, I just told her that we were on a mission to find the best hoodie, since thrift shops are like battlefields, with less blood and all. So, you don't have to worry about a single thing."

"Thank goodness. . . Now, give me that donut, and let us start hauling." They enter The Rummage shop with donuts in their hand, not wholly caring how long they crave water. Because all Soroya saw for that moment was to get done with what they're after before the sun sets in less than two hours and before Houdini and Phoenix pick them up. They decided to separate ways so that whoever noticed a green hoodie would immediately call the other so they could work faster. They've already used forty minutes of their time and already called each other after seeing green hoodies, but none of them matched what Soroya is particularly looking for.

The thrift store wasn't the first place Soroya had in mind. But for some reason, considering what Vianne said that the killer might have bought the hoodie, they decided to pay a visit. Soroya and Philip continue their search, hoping they can still see one item that could lead them to where the killer is.

'So, if we were to find out that the killer bought the hoodie you're saying, then that means we could track him by using that one. We can go to that thrift store every day until someone buys it and, who knows, right? We can immediately catch your killer and save you and my sister in no time.'

It was a straightforward plan. But Soroya and the others were honest to themselves. It was absolutely impossible that there was at least fifty percent chance the hoodie was there.

"Green hoodie, green hoodie, green hoodie. . ." As if it was a chant, Soroya didn't stop mouthing those two words, just to help her boost her hope of finding a similar one to what the killer wore. "Green hoodie, green hood—"

"Soroya, look!" Soroya snapped herself out and turned to where Philip was pointing. A glimmer of hope ignited as they saw the vendor already pulling the hanging clothes from their racks. And at that moment, she is holding a hanger with a green jacket on it. "W-wait! Mister, hold on!"

But as Soroya rushes her way to where the seller is, she bumps into a man wearing a cap. The man had his head down while he exited the shop. 'That guy. . .' And as Soroya stops and turns to see the man's back, a glitch inside her head occurs.

'Why do I feel like—'