"Relying on someone else without exerting any effort of your own is just not right. Because the one you rely on most, can disappear, at any time."

- Jodie Starling 

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Chapter 18:
Nueva Aurora University

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·
RAINE

After what I observed at Mr. Jerico Tan's flat, I have a sense that something is amiss.

Once again, I closed my eyes. My room was locked, and so was the window.

███████████

Inside my mind, images from Apartment 217A greeted me. I found myself back in our old house — alone and seated in our brightly lit living room.

"Raine de Verra," I read from the replica of the note I saw in the owner's room.

Raine de Verra,
I was right! It's h—

The text was cut off there. Below it was written, "Stay Away!" Based on the handwriting, a woman wrote it — more gentle and delicate. Additionally, the ink used for those words matched the pen used for the symbol in the office.

According to research, men's handwriting tends to be hurried, sloppy, and spiky, while women's handwriting is often more regular and neat.

Mr. Tan's writing, on the other hand, appeared rushed. I also noticed scattered papers in the room showing he might have planned to go home after work.

He returned to write that note, but once he was found by that mysterious woman, it was interrupted. Someone might have taken Mr. Tan!

“If whoever has him doesn't want me involved,” I muttered to myself, “then why did Mr. Tan write to me? I don’t know him or any relatives, but in his haste, he wrote my name.”

I stood up, a lingering memory resurfacing. There I was, standing in front of our flat’s building, my gaze drifting to the path leading to Mr. Tan’s flat, as if retracing my steps to find a way inside.

One section of the flat's bay window was ajar, but it was positioned too high for me to reach. I attempted to climb up several times before realizing I needed a chair. After borrowing one, I finally managed to slip inside.

"It's annoying, good thing no one saw me." I was about to mutter when a spark of hope came to me.

"If someone did take Mr. Tan, they might have entered through there, too," I said aloud. I recalled the window mirror, now revealing a smudge I had missed before.

"A woman strong enough to push the mirror using her foot," I murmured to myself. The size of the shoe print, unmistakably smaller and more delicate, suggested a woman’s footprint. Its rugged tread indicated it was a boot.

"I need to inform Detective Ferrer." In an instant, I snapped back to reality — standing by my bed and looking towards the door.

███████████

My cellphone lay on the bedside table.

Detective Ferrer. Call.

“Why aren't you answering?”

I tried calling him again, and on the third attempt, he finally answered.

"Oh, Raine, you called. What's the problem?" he asked.

"We might have a possible case," I replied.

"Possible?"

"Just a hunch for now," I added.

"I'm on leave of absence today. Feeling under the weather," he said. "You should talk to Detective Cruz instead."

"Alright then." I had no desire to speak with another detective from their division. Unlike George, they either doubted me or dismissed my concerns outright.

If Mr. Tan hasn’t returned in three days, perhaps that will be when I find the courage.

As I opened the door to my room, I found Zane sprawled on the sofa, eyes closed. "You should have another coffee later, or you’ll be late for class tomorrow," I teased, before heading to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

T

he next morning, I was roused early by the sound of my phone alarm.

5:00 a.m.

Despite not feeling fully prepared, I pushed myself to get up and stretched my arms and legs.

When I stepped out of my room, my flatmate's door was still closed. He had woken up late at 4:00 p.m. yesterday, so he might have been using his phone again to sleep at night. The result could be that he's probably waking up late.

I had just finished showering when my flatmate startled me, scratching his head. I was dressed in my uniform, but my hair was still wrapped in the towel.

"You're up early," he remarked. "So that's what the women's uniform looks like. I wonder where mine is?"

"Oh, come on! Hurry up," I told him. "I'll leave you if you don't hurry.”

After some interruptions, we finally made it to our school. We didn't have IDs yet, so we showed our printed Certificates of Registration at the gate.

"Welcome to Nueva Aurora University," we heard people greet us as we passed by.

Last night, Nuñez and I talked about nothing else but each other — like the course I chose, which he only just asked about.

"Now why did you really choose Education instead of Criminology?" Nuñez asked as we walked towards the Education building — a three-storey white building on the left side of the campus.

"For the fourth time already, I said it's because someone doesn't want me to take it," I replied.

"So that's why you knew I was majoring in Science," he remarked. "You must have seen my name when you enrolled."

"But did you see mine?" I asked him, feeling a twinge of hidden annoyance starting to surface.

He fell silent at last.

After a quick glance at our CORs, we entered the room assigned to us — Room 110.

"Look, we're here early!" complained my classmate, already sitting in the middle and facing one of the four ceiling fans. The seats were split into two groups, facing each other across the room. No one else was inside yet, so we had the room to ourselves.

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

After the morning classes, we decided to look for a spot for lunch.

"Zhane? Raine?" We had just exited our new classroom in the third building when I heard a familiar voice calling out.

"Ali?" Zane turned around immediately, and I followed suit. Behind us was the girl we had seen earlier. Nuñez glanced at me, as if recalling my remark about possibly seeing Aliza again the next day.

"So you two are studying here, too," she spoke.

Because it's one of the nearest universities, of course.

"Have you eaten yet?" Zane asked.

"Not yet," Ali replied. "How about you?"

"We're also looking for a place to eat," Zane answered.

We wandered through the area, debating over the various eateries and assessing each spot until we settled on a place that caught our interest. The cafeteria was crowded, but we managed to find seats.

“What courses are you taking?” she asked, chewing on a piece of fried chicken.

"I can't believe we're both in BSED," Zane replied, eating the sunny side up egg I had cooked.

"BSED? What's your major?" Ali interjected.

"General Sciences," I answered.

"I major in Math. I guess we all chose courses they say are the toughest," Ali remarked.

"Yeah, no kidding," Zane added with a laugh.

I noticed the unusual connection between the two — something that seemed fitting for the current circumstances.

"Ali, what's your last name? If you don't mind me asking," I interjected to break the silence.

"I haven't properly introduced myself yet, huh?" she replied. "I'm Aliza Francesca Tan."

Zane's eyes widened, and he stared at me. He was seated at the end of the table, with Aliza and I facing each other. "Hold on. I'll just buy some water," she said as he walked away.

"Raine, should we tell her the truth?" he whispered to me.

"What are you talking about?"

"We both know I'm Zane and you're Raine, right? And do you know she knows something else?" he asked.

"Are you sure her name is really Aliza?" I asked sarcastically. "Let's just go along with it for now. We'll tell her after we connect the events to her uncle."

"I'm back," Ali said, sitting back down. "What did I miss?"

"Uh, nothing," Zane quickly replied.

"Did Professor Ricky enter your class?" Ali asked, his expression changing.

"Ricky?" Zane asked. "We don't have a Professor Ricky as a professor."

"You mean Richard Tan?" she added.

Upon mentioning it, I remembered seeing that name on the schedule. "Our class with him in Fluid Mechanics is later. Why do you ask?" I said.

"He was our first subject earlier in another class. The problem was he left after teaching half of his algebra lesson," she replied.

"So you're saying he left abruptly, similar to your uncle Jerico?" I asked her.

"I heard a student was helping the police. Her name was Raine de Verra," she answered. "Raine, I need your help.”

Instead of directing her gaze at me, it shifted towards my colleague. I hadn't expected that to happen, but it seemed like the situation was aligning with my plans.

Now that Aliza was getting closer to Zane, I could potentially learn more things that could help in a case she might not yet know about.

"Of course, we'll help you," Zane replied. "We'll assist you, right, Zhane?" His eyes shifted to me, indicating his confusion about the unfolding events.

"Why did he leave? What happened?" I asked.

"He was talking to someone on his phone before he came in. I noticed he seemed nervous," Ali answered. "I thought it was just because it was his first day teaching in college, but when he was about to get an eraser from the drawer in his desk, he just left."

"He said he would come back but he left his things behind. Our next professor took them, but the third teacher said they didn't see Mr. Tan in the faculty room," she added.

"What else did you notice aside from that phone call?" I asked further.

"I saw him throw this away." From her wallet, she laid out a crumpled red paper in front of us.

As she straightened it out, a sticky note with the letter 'L' written on it became visible to us. "Please help me. I have a bad feeling about this," Aliza said. "Help me find my Dad and my uncle."