Chapter 16- Framed

Lanie's POV:

“Owww, my neck hurts”. I whispered as I head towards the cafeteria.

White lies. That’s what I said in front of the whole Journalism Club. In order to learn everything behind that scary clip, I need to think of a way. And that way was full of white lies. Honestly, I'm not used to lying. It is a huge pain in the neck. I kept on making eye contact with them so I wouldn’t get caught. 

I'm not ignorant. I know for a fact that what I am trying to do needs caution. It’s dangerous. I felt a hunch and I disregarded them because I believed it wasn’t true and these were all just fiction you can watch on TV and read on books but no, they’re not. I was wrong. It actually happened. And where it came from and what’s it for, that I don’t know.

I looked back again before I continued walking to the next hallway. I can no longer see Yshmael and his two friends however I still feel their eyes on me, watching my every move.

Like what Yshmael said, I can fool everyone but not him. It’s so obvious. He didn’t even believed to what I told them earlier or even my reasons. Greyson and Kalvin were the same. One thing's for sure right now, they knew something. I just couldn’t confirm it we were thinking of the same thing. But even if they’re not, I'm sure our thoughts were all connected to each other.

I should avoid him, his friends too. Since I don’t know if they have something to do with all the anomalies going on here at Hespheria or what not.

"Lanie!"

I heard Rona shout my name as I enter the cafeteria. It’s so unusual seeing her alone. I waved back, telling her I'm getting food.

After getting food, I went straight to our table. “Where are those two?” I asked as I put down my tray and bag.

“They were having a meeting within their department for the upcoming festival week.” 

Yes, the festival. It’s almost here and I almost forgot about it. I wasn’t listening when they were explaining it.

Rona noticed and tried explaining. “Every Foundation celebration, the faculty always give the tasks. They always assign students to plan for the festival. It’s up to the students what they will do. They can put up booths or anything as long as they earn legally.”

“Does it really have to earn?” I asked her.

“Yep. It could be mini coffee shop, arcades or any booth they want. Whatever they earn on the Foundation celebration are being collected and donated by our school to charities. It looks like a festival for a cause since we are celebrating the founding anniversary of Saint Augustine.”

“Really?” I said in amazement.

Rona nods. “Yep again. It was Sir Yvan's idea. Knowing Saint Augustine’s students, they can all afford it. He thought of it as a way of helping those who weren’t capable”. Rona scoops before continuing, “But that’s not the exciting part of this festival."

I stopped eating and turned my attention to what she was saying.

She smiled. “This is the only time the school allows students from different schools to help out and enjoy the festivities. They can stay at the dorms for two weeks and sit in on our classes”.

I lost the interest to continue listening to what she was babbling about and saw a different kind of spark on her eyes. I was right. “You’re daydreaming of handsome guys again?”

She giggled and color came to her cheeks. She was blushing. I just shook my head and continued with my food.

We ate in silence though it was too loud around the cafeteria.

"Ms. Maelanie Inocencio?"

We both looked up and saw four guys standing around us. Three of them were wearing police uniforms. The other one was wearing a cloak and a hat like Sherlock Holmes. They all looked liked they were in their late thirties.

Rona and I both looked at each other before looking back at them. 

The tallest among them moved his hand towards me. “My name's Inspector Anthony Luegas from Hespheria Investigation Department. Can we invite you to come with us at our office?” he politely asked. I'm a bit doubtful.

I stood and took his hand and gave him a handshake.

“What’s this about?” I asked back. I should stay quiet now but I’m not going to go with them without knowing why.

They all looked at each other then said, “It’s better if your come with us at our office so we can discuss this further.”

He tried to look around us. I did the same and felt embarrassed when I noticed all the attention in the cafeteria were shifted to us. Everyone stopped on their tracks like they have forgotten they were here to eat.

"Ah, Inspector Luegas."

Slowly, everyone’s attention changed to Yshmael as he came in followed by his two friends.

Inspector Luegas' expression changed and he lowered his head slightly. “Mr. Aronzaga.”

“Is there something wrong Inspector?” Kalvin greeted. He approached and tap one of the inspector’s companion who avoided his gaze.

The inspector acknowledged Kalvin. “Nothing Mr. Buenaventura. We just want to invite Ms. Inocencio to our office.”

“May I know why?” Yshmael replied with a serious tone.

The inspector’s smiled. “I’m sorry Mr. Aronzaga. This is a confidential issue and we’re not authorized to discuss it with anyone.”

Yshmael smirked. “You’re in my school, Inspector.” He approached the inspector and went on with his collar. “And she’s a part of my school. I have the right to know the reason why you’re inviting her.”

If this wasn’t for my sake I could have winced at the thought of his actions. He’s finally exercising his authority!

The inspector was caught off guard but he’s good at hiding it. “Ms. Inocencio broke the law.”

I furrowed my brows as I looked at Inspector Luegas. I wanted to answer him back and defend myself though I have no idea what he was talking about. Instead, I stayed quiet when I saw Yshmael dismissed my attempt.

“Can you elaborate Inspector?" Greyson uttered and sat at the corner of the table beside us. “It’s not really good for the school’s image if there are rumors spreading. If there are no students who'll choose St. Augustine, will you take responsibility? Can the four of you face the consequences?"

Everyone was startled. The three other officers could feel the tension building up.

“That’s not what we meant for coming here Mr. Ronquillo.” The inspector opened his brief case and took out a brown envelope. Yshmael took the envelope and opened it. “I’m sure you were aware that your school has been targeted by a hacker. The school's server system were infected by a virus.”

My mind was suddenly full of questions. “And what’s my connection with the school's server hacking incident?" I can’t help but ask in disbelief. Do they think I was behind this?

The inspector went silent. He looks like he’s refusing to give me an answer. He looked at Yshmael and gave out a sigh. “We were able to trace the origin of the virus which caused the crashed and corrupted the servers. It was traced back to your school. We also found a computer in an old well at the back of the school."

I was stunned. I couldn’t move. All I heard were the students whispering to each other.

I could feel my knees trembling. I wanted to sit back but no. I stood my ground.

He didn’t directly stated it but it’s so obvious that he's trying to tell everyone I was the owner of the computer they found. I hope they weren’t referring to the computer I disposed of previously. But what bothers me most is how could I be connected to the hacking incident.

“According to our initial investigations, we found that the said computer was previously owned by Ms. Inocencio,” one of the other three officers claimed.

“These are all speculations. Not because she’s the owner of the computer you found doesn’t mean she was behind this incident.”

“I totally understand Mr. Aronzaga. It’s the reason why we are inviting Ms. Inocencio to come with us to answer a few questions to help us investigate this further. This is an opportunity to clear her name as well.” The inspector and the other officers smiled.

This time Yshmael chuckled. “Investigate? You’re supposed to be protecting Saint Augustine but you failed.”

“I can’t understand what you’re trying to point out Mr. Aronzaga," asked the inspector. His smile disappeared.

“Can you get me my laptop Maelanie?” Yshmael pointed and laid out his hand.

What's going on? I couldn’t understand what they were trying to point out. I rushed to my bag and took out the laptop.

He handed out the the laptop to Luegas. “As you can see inspector,” he began, “She’s carrying my laptop for a week now. She’s a transferee. We all know that she’s already behind her lessons and we decided to switch our laptops so she can catch up. However, her's was missing for three days. We didn’t inform her about it as we thought we can still find her laptop but as you can see, I failed."

What was Yshmael saying? He's lying! We never switched our laptops. This guy!

“Someone stole Maelanie's laptop from me. And these are all because of your negligence in your duty to protect the students and the entire school. I believe, that’s your department's job Inspector Luegas,” Yshmael continued.

Inspector Luegas frowned and was about to ask before Yshmael cut him off.

“I’m sure you have already asked the IT to get more information on this. May I know has the laptop been inside the well?"

“It was two days.”

Yshmael nods. “And when was the virus installed on the computer you’re saying was Melanie’s?"

“A day ago,” uttered the inspector in a low, whisper-like voice.

Yshmael smirked. “Are you really doing your job, Inspector”? He pocketed his hands before continuing. “I am no expert but logically, if Melanie’s laptop had been there, inside the well for two days, how come the virus was installed to the computer a day ago? Are you even thinking? Even an elementary student can look at it the same way. Don’t tell me she pulled out her computer out of the well and install the virus and put them back?"

“No comment about that Mr. Aronzaga.”

“The well was too deep”. Kalvin cupped his own chin. “If Yshmael's theory actually happened, it’s impossible for Lanie to accomplish it without having been noticed by the other students. That will take too much time besides, Melanie’s too short to go and pull her laptop out of the well.”

“Hey Lanie, tell me. Is your laptop waterproof?" Kalvin asked.

I shook my head.

Greyson grinned. “Oh! See that Inspectors? Only the experts of some sort can do a great job of salvaging a non-waterproof laptop just to install a virus.”

“That’s why we’re here and inviting her to come with us to make things clear,” insisted the inspector.

“I can’t let you take her Inspector,” Yshmael said. “Take me instead.”

Almost everyone was stunned by what Yshmael said.

He shrugged his shoulders. “She has the perfect alibi that’s why you can’t take her. I do not want any news circulating in this town that can damage it’s image. I am also responsible for what had happened to her laptop. I did not took care of it. Also, I am sure that your department has to take responsibility as well for not securing the safety of this school. My beloved school.”

I saw the officers and the inspector’s face went pale. They looked liked they don’t know what to do about the situation.

Yshmael went on. “Take me instead inspector so we can be done with this. This incident has already caused a huge disturbance to everyone. Don’t worry, I will make sure my father knows how hardworking you are.” There was a sarcastic remark at the end of his sentence.

I felt threatened by what Yshmael said even though he wasn’t referring to me. The officers and the inspector looked uneasy and sweating.

Beads of cold sweat trickled down the inspector's forehead. He tried to wipe them down. “I think it’s best we take a look at this again and see if we could find something else.”

“Oh why inpector? I’m willing to join you in this investigation,” Yshmael grinned.

It became more uneasy for the inspector. He avoided Yshmael and faced me instead. “We’re sorry for the inconvenience Ms. Inocencio. We will take our leave.”

The inspector and the other officers turned around and quickly leave the cafeteria. He didn’t even waited for my reply.

❤