- 3.1 - Black and White Mystery (The Code)

LUKE MATTHEW

BLACK AND WHITE Mystery… My very first case! I’ve never felt such tremendous adrenaline as when I went to rescue Janden. I want to feel it again; the rush, the thrill, and the way it felt like it’s just me against the world— it was amazing. And if this insulting, unpleasant child will give me this high school adventure I’ve been yearning for, then I’ll stick with her. Hibara White Cake is the detective; a magnet of tragedy after all.

“Do we still need to attend classes? Why don’t we just proceed with the case?” I asked the Detective as we climbed up the stairs leading to the fourth floor.

“Well, if you want to graduate, you know the answer. If you want to repeat, you still know. Besides, without Levy, we don’t have a good lead. If we can’t find him, we’ll just have to wait for the masquerade,” she answered and then entered the classroom. I sighed and followed after.

“Why don’t we just cut classes?” I asked once more. Her seatmate, Ella, looked back and forth at us.

“I can legally go in and out of the university, Major. You, however, will gain nasty records if you do. Now, if you don’t want to lose your position in the CAT Officers: shut your mouth and take your seat,” she replied and rolled her eyes.

“Where are you two from?” Ken asked as I sat on my chair. “Did you go on a date?”

“What? No!” I laughed.

Meet Kendrick Kho, the tallest among the boys. He’s got a girlfriend from the other section and that’s possibly why his thoughts are all about romance. He once told me that his best asset was his silver eyes.

“Come on, you two were both absent in Mathematics! The new kid passed by for a few minutes and then left. But now, she returned… with you! And look, you also went to her seat before coming here! You’re like… worlds apart! She’s by the front door and you’re here at the back row—”

“Stop it, Ken. If you knew how she threw insults at me, you’d hate her,” I sighed and leaned back. I picked up a pen and played with it.

“The more you hate, the more you love, Luke,” he smiled. He really won’t stop teasing me!

“Where are your two seatmates?” Vester curiously asked.

“Levy cut classes and Janden is with the Campus Police,” I plainly answered. He opened his mouth, about to add another word, but shut it again and retreated to his seat.

That is Sylvester Rambo Tan. We call him Vester but his cousin (who is also our classmate), Shiloah Ibarra, calls him Tato. Apparently, his father likes action stars and named him after them.

Our Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) teacher entered and slammed her thick book on the desk which startled the hell out of me. “Quiz, lengthwise,” she announced with her terrifying voice and gaze. Her tall figure also added to that frightening aura she always had. I once imagined before that I am just a mere cockroach in her view while I was standing in front of her to submit my late homework. I stopped playing with my pen and quickly searched for the piece of paper from my backpack.

“I really hate her.” I heard Vester mumble as he wrote his name down. His unique attribute among the boys is his left-handedness.

“Who wouldn’t hate Ms. Heidi Jimenez, anyway? She’s the terror teacher that any student dislikes,” Ken commented as he crumpled the paper where he possibly wrote his name wrong. He always does that.

“And the surprise quizzes adds to her terror, duh,” added our blonde boy, Ish.

“BOYS AT THE BACK!” She suddenly called out which made us sit upright. Everyone became quiet. “Would you mind sharing to the class what you’re talking about?”

“Luke!” Ish whispered along with a tell-her-a-lie look.

I shook my head and whispered back, “I don’t lie!”

He rolled his eyes and raised his hand. “Miss, we are talking about my stolen shoes.”

“Oh, really?” Ms. Jimenez scoffed and walked towards us. “Then, why do I feel like you are talking about ME?”

“N-No, Miss,” Ken stuttered. She gave him that chilling eyes and he gulped. I also noticed his fingers shaking.

Ms. Jimenez turned to everyone. “Quiz is fifty items and I will only say the questions ONCE! Anyone who asks for repetition will get a minus-five in the total score,” she announced and I sighed. No one spoke; no one complained. Everyone’s terrified… or so I thought.

The Detective raised her hand and even without Ms. Jimenez’ acknowledgment, she stood up and spoke in her usual tone of voice. “Why are you spilling your anger on your students?”

“Did I allow you to speak?” Ms. Jimenez countered, crossing her arms.

“I transferred here last week; you have three meetings with us in a week: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Today is my fourth time to meet you and I must say, today’s a devilish Monday. There was a suicide case, theft, and now a dreadful teacher! Isn’t it Christmas? It’s too eventful for me,” she paused to give that mocking smile. I could see Ms. Jimenez’ hands grip her arms tightly, maybe trying to prolong her patience with the Detective.

She continued, “Oh, and by the way, sorry about the engagement. If you’re that mad, don’t situate it on us. Spill that anger onto your ex-fiancé,” then she sat down.

As if Ms. Jimenez is a dragon trying to contain its anger, her nostrils were flaring and her chest raised and dipped aggressively. Her nails were digging on her skin before she stopped and went to the desk to pick up her book and walk out of the classroom. Her heavy steps could even be heard from the hallway.

I quickly approached the unpleasant human being in her seat. “That’s rude! You didn’t have to do that, especially the last part where you mentioned her ex.”

“Well, if I am rude, then she’s much more, isn’t she?” She answered and then smirked. “Also, the missing ring was very noticeable; I couldn’t help but say it.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Still, that’s not nice to do to a teacher!”

“Oh, is it not? I was just preventing the worse, Major. If she continued to treat her students like that, I won’t hesitate to go and report her to the principal. When I do, she’ll definitely lose her job.”

“Uh…” I’m at a loss for words! How do I respond to that?

She suddenly stood up, carried her mint handbag, and said, “LR-308.”

“Wait, what?” I asked but she didn’t seem to hear it as she was already in the hallway, heading for the stairs.

I quickly went towards my seat and carried my backpack. “Detective, wait!” I shouted as I ran after her. I managed to catch up with her on the third floor.

“What is LR-308?” I asked but she didn’t answer. We stopped in front of a familiar room. “Ah, locker room 308.”

“We are going to get Levy’s invitation card,” she said and took a leather pouch from her bag.

“What’s that?” I asked again. Why do I feel stupid when I’m with her?

“A lock picking kit,” she answered and began to pick Levy’s locker. She opened it so easily that my jaw dropped in amazement.

“Don’t be so astonished, this is a basic skill. I’ll teach you next time. It’s easy,” she said, snapping me back into reality. “Here. Take a look at this.”

I faced Levy’s locker and found a small, blinking device. “Is that a bomb?!” I gulped as she took the device out.

“No, it’s a customized device that blinks a message in Morse code,” she replied and handed me the item.

“Customized?”

“The criminal business is obviously wide. They invented this. They must have had an engineer in the group,” she closed Levy’s locker; “Anyway, the invitation’s not here. He must have brought it with him when he escaped.”

She walked out of the room and I followed. “The device points to a location. We’ll be heading there.”

“What location?” I asked but she just gave me a smile as she continued walking down the stairs. I fished my phone from my coat pocket and searched for Morse code images.

—●●● / ●— / ●●● / —●— / ● / ●—● / ●●●— / ●● / ●—●● / ●—●● / ●

“Isn’t this out of the uni’s premises?” I asked and she suddenly stopped.

“Why are you following us?” She asked all of a sudden which made me look behind. Standing by a pillar was a woman with waist-long, straight red hair— the vice president of The Forensic Club.

“President’s orders, I’m afraid. And I am not following the both of you. Just you, Hibara White Cake,” Teresita answered as she approached us.

“Oh, you did your research… I’m impressed! Did he pay you money to spy on me or is this voluntary?” The Detective countered.

“If you’re going to follow her, then you’ll follow me, too,” I added which made them both look at me.

“What are you saying?”

“What I’m saying is that I am with you in this, Detective. So, if they’re gonna spy on you, then they’re spying on me as well. This is our case now, remember?”

She just shrugged and turned to Teresita, “Your answer?”

“He did not pay us to do anything, this is club work. He assigned me the spying and Zia did the research. You’re quite famous, aren’t you? Have you read that news article when you were born? The daughter of the two—”

“Shut up. I am Hibara, I am my own. I am not going to live under their shadows,” she said in an aura I’ve never felt before. The Detective was fierce; she sounded… powerful.

“Major, let’s go,” she called and walked away from the VP.

“Alright, Detective,” I responded with a smile but it quickly faded into confusion as I noticed that we weren’t heading for Gate 4. “Where are we going?”

“Campus Police Station,” she simply answered.

“Chief Velasquez, we meet again!” The Detective greeted the Campus Police Head as we approached the station.

“Hibara!” He greeted her back and then turned to me. “Aren’t you the one who brought Mr. Vher?”

“Yes. Yes, I am, Chief Velasquez. I’m Luke Matthew Vargas,” I introduced and we shook hands.

“What brings you two here?”

“Luke Vargas is now my assistant so I am here to ask for his personal Gate Pass— make it available at any time and can be used to enter and exit through all the gates,” she answered and I looked at her in surprise.

“Is this real? Am I really your assistant?”

“If you’re coming with me, I should not be held liable for your school offenses. So, here’s my contribution: no cutting class records,” she explained then turned to Chief Velasquez who handed her the ID-sized pass. “Thanks, Chief.”

She gave me the item and said, “Laminate this and keep it with you always.”

“And now, we’re off to Baskerville, Detective.”

“That’s right, Major. The game is afoot.”