Chapter 5

C for Curiosity

Flashback

Three days had passed since the last time that girl named Rev and I met on our school’s rooftop. My days were back to normal, and I can enjoy my own time during snacks and lunch breaks. Now I’m here at the back of our school’s academic building. It’s pretty cool here. The air breeze is cold. I want to thank the tall trees for that. I think it’s nice to take a nap here.

I knew she’s one of them, like those people who come and go. Temporary as what they called them. That’s because I have those answer keys Audi stole that our lives crossed each other. A weird girl who met a boring boy is not going to happen.

“It’s just a coincidence.” I closed my eyes.

“What do you mean coincidence?”

That lifeless tone made me jolt more than my alarm clock. Do I hear things? I looked around just to find a familiar set of gray eyes looking behind me. What is she doing here?

“Hi, nice to see you again.” She smiled.

“Hi, it’s been… three days?” I asked her.

“Nope, I saw you yesterday and even in the morning today, but you completely ignored me.” She sat on the grass across me and put her chessboard in front of us.

“Now, you have to pay for what you did by playing this with me.” Her tone was different this time. It was a bit deep and dark. Her smile made it even scarier. Do I have another choice?

“I don’t know how to play chess.” Honestly, yes, I really don’t know how to play it.

She looked at me right after I said those words, and her attention went back to her chessboard.

“What about checkers?” she asked me while she opened and started to arrange the pieces bit by bit.

“I do, but I’m not really good at it. I never played it before. I just watched my neighbors play.” I should have said no. Now I’m stuck with this girl again instead of enjoying a peaceful nap. ‘So long, my sleep~.’

“That’s good enough. Help me arrange these pieces.”

Yes, I did what she told me. I looked at my watch and saw it was 11:48 pm. Do I have to play with her for an hour?

-0-0-0-

We’ve been playing for 30 minutes, and we had five matches already. For someone who doesn’t know how to play something like this, of course, you wouldn’t expect me to win. I’m not one of those novel characters who looked weak but still managed to win in the end. I’m not even suited to become a novel character. The story might end up boring.

“That would be a total of 6 losses,” she said as one of her pieces ate one of my last three pieces. I lost again since the other two would end up getting eaten anyway, anywhere I go.

“I think you should find someone who matches your level. I’m not even considered as an amateur since I don’t play this kind of thing.”

“You’ll learn,” she said while starting to arrange them again to start another match. I stopped her hands from doing so, and she looked at me like what I am doing is weird, and it creeps her out. I realized it right away and released her hand from my grip. “Sorry,” I told her.

She continued arranging those pieces slowly as she handled it with care.

“You want to know why Audi stole the answer key?” she asked me.

Of course, she told me before that those are not for Audi, and maybe she had done it for someone. I was almost got involved at that time. But that would prolong this conversation, so I answered what I usually answer if someone asked me.

“No.”

She smirked.

“I know you’re curious. That’s where it all started, from being curious. Say ‘yes,’ and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Those words gave me an unfamiliar feeling. I want to know, but I don’t want to say yes. I feel like if I said it, I’d lose another set from her.

How much does she know about that incident? Is she the one who made Audi stole it? A scene flashed back in my memories.

“I know you have it. I saw it,” she said in a lifeless tone.

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“I’ll give your name to our Prefect of Discipline, or you hand it over and come with me?”

“Did you do it?” She stopped and looked at me. The confusion was written all over her face.

“Did you made Audi do it for you?” I asked her, she smiled.

“See? You’re curious, but you don’t want to admit it,” she said, placing the last three pieces.

“I’m not.”

I hate that she could easily read through me and how stubborn I am for still denying it even though it’s obvious.

“Okay, tell me,” I told her, giving up. At what amount of curiosity can kill a cat? Maybe just a little bit won’t hurt him.

She was about to place the last piece on the board but chose not to. She held it tight, and she smiled. I saw her think for about a couple of seconds before deciding to place the last piece on the board, making a soft sound. She took a deep breath before she asked me a question.

“What do you know about Audi?”

That stopped me from thinking. What do I know about her aside from her name and the fact that she didn’t graduate last time? I don't know anything.

“Is that question necessary?” I asked her.

“Of course, I want to know where to start, so I should ask you first.” That made sense.

“Well, I know her name, section, the reason she’s still here and…” I don’t want to say she’s a gangster or a delinquent. I think that isn’t nice even though it's true. It seems like we're talking things about her behind her back.

“Don’t try to sugar-coat the things that are obviously bad,” she said. She got the point, though.

“… a bad girl.”

“She is but is she still a bad girl even if what she did is just because to help a friend?” she asked me.

“Of course, if she really wanted to help that friend, she should help him or her study for the exam, not stole things. That wouldn’t make her a hero. Even Robinhood might be against it.”

“How can someone bad at studying help a friend to study?” Again, she got the point.

She gestured me to make my first move for our seventh match this time.

“That’s true, though,” I said.

“Maybe they could ask for a tutor or someone who excels in academics just like Tux Yu from section A. But seeing Audi talked with Tux is impossible. That nerd guy is just so hard to spoke with,” I added, moving my piece forward.

“He is,” she said, moving her second piece at the corner to her right. I was observing her since our first match. That was a move she really does when it’s her second time moving. I even tried to copy it on our third match, and she got this weird look on her face while looking at me. Obviously, she's not happy about that, and that was also the last time I copied it.

“I don’t know about her friends. I barely even see her since I think she spends most of her time on suspensions and community service as a punishment.”

“She’s a friend with my cousin, Jim.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve seen her with him that last match before Audi got suspended. Are they close like buddies or best friends?” I asked her. I made my fourth move unconsciously.

“Not really.  You know Audi’s ex-boyfriend, Kier Cortez, was Jim’s senior at baseball. So when they have their practice matches before, Audi was around and hanging out with them,” she said. And you know what happened when you move without giving it a thought or a plan? You’ll be defeated right in a second.

“Woah, and I lost four pieces in one go? I really sucked at this game. I told you, you should find someone who could play this with you, Rev,” I said while having all my hands above my head, thinking what I should do next.

There was silence for about twenty seconds while I’ve been thinking about my next move. That was weird, we were talking just a while ago, but she went silent. I looked at her, and her deep gray eyes met mine. Those again? Is there any way to avoid those pair of eyes? It really doesn't feel very pleasant to me.

She smiled.

And now she’s smiling. The feeling of being awkward came back into my system. “You said my name. You were comfortable with me a while ago,” she said.

I am? I didn’t even notice. Did I talk too much?

“Umm, so do you want to tell me about the incident?” I asked her. Let’s just forget who I am and talk about what we are supposed to talk to.

“I want to,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“I have a hunch of who made her do it, but I still need some evidence, though,” she said while moving her pieces at the back-row forward.

“So, you know nothing?” That question made her stopped and stared at me, saying, “Nothing is not a word to describe it, and everything is too much.”

What? Am I playing checkers or riddles? She sure has a lot of games in her pocket.

“It may be impossible to see these two people hanging around with each other, but they’re schoolmates and could be more than that, so the possibility of them talking at the back of this building is high,” she said.

My eyebrows furrowed since I can’t follow what she told me. My brain is handling too much from the 6 losses I’ve got from playing with her. How can she still throw riddles I can’t solve?

“6 o’clock. Don’t make noises when you turn around, or else we’re both dead,” she said.

I turned around and saw the two people we were talking about minutes ago. It was Audi and the smart guy, Tux. They were facing each other. If one caught us watching at them, Audi would notice us first since Tux had his back on us. I think they were talking about something important based on the looks that they have on their faces.

But things went out the wrong way when Audi catch a glimpse of us, and the next thing I knew is that this weird girl, the girl whom I play checkers with a while ago, the girl who owns those pair of deep gray eyes, had her hands at the back of my head saving it from Audi’s eyes and her face an inch closer to my face.