"What the hell are you thinking?!"
She was furious. Why? Well, let's go back for a bit.
After forming a cooperative alliance with Cardano, I messaged Ponce to let her know.
It was questionable that I chose to tell her when I could have kept it a secret. I knew this was a poor decision, but Ponce would have found out eventually. Rather than letting her make things worse later, I figured it was better to deal with it now.
Walking alongside Cardano, we headed over to meet Ponce. The meeting place was behind the gym. I had instructed Ponce to meet us there. When we arrived, we saw Ponce already waiting. She stood there tapping her foot while letting out displeased clicks of her tongue.
"Tsk… tsk… TSK… TSK…"
The sound of her tongue-clicking echoed faintly around the corner, and the closer we got, the louder it became.
The moment Ponce spotted a figure approaching, she immediately walked toward us.
"What the hell yo–"
She was about to chew me out when she noticed Cardano behind me. Her words were cut short as she stared at her instead.
"I came as well," Cardano said weakly.
Ponce then glared at me, but ignored her completely and turned to look at Cardano.
"Prez."
"Ah. Yeah?"
"This is where Escuro and I hang out."
"Oh, okay."
"Just to make things clear, we only talk here. Nothing more."
"O-Okay."
I hoped that somehow cleared up her misunderstanding about Escuro and me. I knew it wasn't much of an explanation, but I was risking my personal space just to give her some peace of mind. If she knew about this place, she could check on it whenever she wanted.
Ponce frowned at what she heard.
Was she mad because I was telling Cardano this? Or maybe because I never told her about this place before?
While wondering whether it was a good idea for Ponce to hear all this, I heard Cardano speak.
"Does she also hang out here?" She is talking about Ponce.
"No."
"What about Manzano?"
I shook my head.
I didn't know why she was asking about them, but then I realized where my answers could lead.
"Prez, it's not what you think!"
"Don't worry, I'm not."
Was she, though? Please don't misunderstand.
As I talked with Cardano, Ponce grew impatient and suddenly jabbed her finger hard into my side.
"Oi."
"Uck. What now?"
"Can I have your attention now?"
"Yes?"
She pinched my ear and dragged me away from Cardano. Once we were far enough, she let go and turned toward me.
She glared at me fiercely and continued the words that had been cut off earlier.
"What the hell are you thinking?!"
She tried to lower her voice, but her tone was still strong.
"I thought we might need help."
"Aren't you supposed to keep it a secret?!"
"Don't worry, I haven't told her Escuro's secret."
"And You Do Know… she's the one Manzano has a crush on, right?"
At the end of her sentence, she significantly lowered her voice so Cardano wouldn't hear it.
"Wait, how did you know that I know that?"
That surprised me. Manzano, liking Cardano, wasn't known to anyone at all, so why did she assume I knew?
"That's not important. Answer me. Why did you involve her in this?"
"Why not? She said she wanted to help, and I don't see this problem getting solved anytime soon."
"What if it just makes things worse?"
"...I-I don't think it'll come to that."
"You're not even sure about that!"
Ponce was really against this. Did she already foresee it causing more trouble? That wasn't for her to decide.
"Umm, Dalino, I think I should go."
"Ah, wait, Prez. We haven't talked about the plan yet."
"No need to include me anymore."
"What? Why?"
She subtly glanced at Ponce.
"Isn't it obvious? She's strongly against me."
"Didn't we already talk about this before? So please stay here. I'll convince her."
Taking my gaze away from Cardano, I faced Ponce.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I personally asked her for help."
"Then are you betraying Camille's trust?"
"No. This is to help her."
"Did you tell her everything?"
"Don't worry. He didn't tell me anything aside from the fact that Escuro and Manzano were the problem," Cardano answered instead of me.
Ponce looked at her, then at me, trying to read our expressions to see whether we were lying.
"I already made a plan, and Prez is the key figure in it."
"Why tell me this? You could've done it without letting me know."
"I'd be lying if I said that thought didn't cross my mind. But after thinking it over, I realized it would be unfair to keep you in the dark, especially since I know you're also trying your best. However, this time, you're not alone. We can work on this together. Don't you want them to get along again?"
Ponce fell silent for a moment.
This was the first and last time I'd try to convince her. Whether she accepted it or not, I would still carry on with my plan. My only purpose was to inform her, nothing else.
After thinking for a while, Ponce finally spoke.
"What's the plan?"
"Then are you in?"
"...Yeah."
Hearing her answer, I signaled for Cardano to come closer and explain the plan to them.
***
March 16, Saturday.
Manzano stood outside Luna High, looking at his phone as he waited.
Since the school was closed on weekends, it was questionable why he was there.
There was a reason for it. Two days ago, Cardano sent an announcement in their class group chat.
[Everyone, we will be having a meeting on Saturday.]
[What's the meeting about, Prez?]
[Where? What time?]
One classmate asked about the purpose, while another asked for the place and time.
[We'll talk about the school festival next month. Our call time is 12 PM, and we'll meet at the east gate of the school.]
No one complained about the arrangement. They all agreed and replied with thumbs-up emojis.
Returning to the present, that was why Manzano was at the school–more specifically, outside the east gate.
Manzano arrived exactly at 12 PM and seemingly was the first one there. Since it had just turned noon, he waited for five minutes, thinking the others were simply late. But even after five minutes had passed, not a single classmate showed up.
Wondering where everyone was, he checked the group chat. He thought the meeting might have been canceled, but when he looked through the messages, there were no updates at all. No one even mentioned being late.
What made it even weirder was that the person who arranged the meeting wasn't there either. Their class president, Diana Cardano, was nowhere to be found.
There's something off, he thought.
He typed, 'Where are you guys?' on his phone, but before he could send it, someone approached him.
It was the person in question.
"Prez, is the meeting still going to continue?" he asked.
"Yes."
"But I'm the only one here."
"Oh, they're already here."
"Really?"
Manzano was doubtful since he hadn't passed by anyone on the way.
"Yeah. Also, I forgot to mention this in the group chat, but I talked to the people at the barangay hall and got permission to use their basketball court for our meeting."
"For real? That's cool. So our classmates are already there?"
"That's right. That's why I came here to get you-I mean, get those who weren't informed."
Manzano blinked twice, trying to process what Cardano had said.
Did she just come to get me personally? He thought.
Those words made him feel special. But considering she was their class president, he knew it probably wasn't anything special. Cardano was simply obligated to guide her classmates to the location.
"Let's head there already. Everyone's waiting."
"Okay."
Manzano followed Cardano on the way to the barangay hall. He already knew where it was, yet he still walked behind her like a duckling. He could've walked beside her, but he chose not to.
"So, what do you think of our class?"
"Huh?"
"Do you find it comfortable? I'm asking for feedback as your president."
"Well, it's fine, I guess."
"…Is that really it?"
"?"
"This week, you've been acting differently."
"Differently?"
"You've been quiet and distant these days."
"…"
At his silence, Cardano turned slightly to glance at him.
Manzano's eyes drifted downward, as if avoiding her gaze. When he looked up again, their eyes briefly met. Noticing the gaze, he got startled and quickly looked away.
Seeing enough, Cardano turned her attention to the front.
"There's something on my mind… lately."
"Oh? What is it? Maybe I can help."
"Thanks, Prez, but you don't have to."
"Why? Am I unreliable?"
"Ah–no, no. It's just… I already resolved it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I just need to… n…ot…e..f….in…v…"
"…If you say so."
Cardano didn't press further and accepted his answer. The mumble Manzano did in the end, she let it slide. It wasn't clear, but she was glad she hadn't caught it, out of consideration for Dalino and co. So she let the conversation end there before anything more slipped out.
The barangay hall was just two blocks away from Luna High. A 3-minute walk. Yet it took them 6 minutes to arrive. Cardano deliberately slowed her pace, hoping to get a better read on Manzano's condition. Nevertheless, their conversation had already ended by the time they reached the destination.
"They're at the court."
Cardano said without turning back or stopping her steps. Behind her was Manzano, following, but didn't respond to her statement.
The basketball court was on the upper floor of the barangay hall, so they went inside and climbed the stairs. When they reached the top, still on the stairs, Manzano noticed how awfully quiet it was, despite the place being filled with the whole class.
It was really peculiarly quiet.
He knew his classmates well. They weren't the type to stay silent like this unless something was wrong.
He looked at Cardano, searching for a cue, but she gave no reaction. That meant it was nothing to worry about… or at least, that she wasn't concerned. Or perhaps she had simply instructed them to stay quiet. Reassured by that thought, he dismissed his doubts and stepped into the court.
However, the silence only deepened the moment he entered.
The basketball court was empty.
The classmates, the entire class that was supposed to be there, were nowhere in sight.
He looked around, trying to make sense of it. Cardano had said they were already here, but all he could see were two familiar figures standing not far away.
"Um… Prez? Where's the rest?"
Manzano asked for an explanation, but Cardano couldn't meet his eyes. For the first time, she looked almost guilty.
"The meeting was canceled."
"What do you mean… cancelled?"
That was all she said. No explanation followed. From this point onward, her role in the situation was finished, and the other side would take the rest.
The two classmates across from them stepped forward.
"Manzano, we need to talk."