All Chapters of The Photo Collector : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

She jumped in shock and fell out of the transit down to the ground in front of me. Her shrieking continued, and the longer she did it, the paler she became. “Rabiya!” I went down on my knees and netted her bare shoulder with my hands. I moved her farther away from the door and joggled her body. “Hey! What’s wrong?” I crawled to her front to see her full reaction. Her eyes were red and wide opened, with veins almost popping out due to fear and horror. Tears drizzled from it, sweeping the make-up off as it streamed down to her cheeks. She kept shouting. Nonstop. But her vocal chords couldn’t take it. As she went running out of breath, her voice faded in the air. One gasp. After that, a series of inhalation followed. People from inside the chapel had heard the noise, so they must have been on their way to us by now. But before anyone else arrived, I cupped Rabiya’s face with my flounderin

“You are unbelievable,” I said the minute I stepped out of the chapel after we’re done participating in the thought-provoking interrogation. Travis grunted. “I just saved ourselves back there, so you’re welcome,” he replied, straight-faced, walking a few steps ahead of me.We halted outside the caution tape surrounding the transit van where the crime scene happened. Three patrol cars, including the one Philip’s Dad used last night, was parked on the left part of the chapel beside the flagpole. As the investigation team began their job, we saw the vice-principal walking from the pavement towards the vehicle where the teachers and other staff were standing; discussing about the traumatizing death of the owner of HCU and her chauffeur. The Vice Principal Mr. Morales was an invisible man. He rarely showed up. He would only go to school when the principal had meetings or errands to attend t

GEODIE Every time something would happen terribly wrong, silence was our first go-to friend. Sitting on my armed chair, I looked at the clock as if it was an enemy to me. I watched it’s every movement, from how its longest hand transferred from one number to another. I had been doing it consistently for about fifteen minutes straight when suddenly, a knock on the door broke my concentration. “Open it!” Janvic shouted while leaning on the corner of the room, squeezing himself between the bookshelf and the square table. “That must be Mrs. Tejada,” he added as he tried to access the only opened window facing the outside. Nicole was the nearest to the door, so she took the job of twisting the knob. Slowly and while looking at us, she swung the classroom door open. “Oh, hey! It’s you!” Nicole greeted with a vibrant smile. She swept her slightly coiled hair onto he

CYLVIA   (20 hours in lockdown)    We were all awaken by the buzz of a long and ear-shattering sound of the University buzzer. It’s annoying rhythm stayed in the air for a while, and it didn’t stop until everyone of us was irritated and could no longer return back to our sleep. It was roughly around eight in the morning, and just like yesterday’s weather, the sun ditched us and did not show up again. Everything was happening really, really fast, that our senses could not cope up with it. The next thing I knew, we all looked awfully stressed. And if I had to point out the reason behind it, I should say it was because of the scenario that happened the whole day—from the very first hour in the morning to the very last our hour in the night—yesterday. It was definitely one hell of a reason to end our Thursday with anger.  We never had a nice rest. We were left sleeping on the floor, in our black and white outfit th

 I wish I was them. I wish I had the same fortune, the same luxury, and the same wealth as them. If only I was as blessed as they were, maybe there was no need for me to suffer emotionally and financially anymore. If only I was rich like them, maybe I did not have to write essays for others, answer quizzes for others, and do assignments for others only to earn money for my bills and dues. But it was hard to be them. I could not be them. They are elites. The rarest of gems. The untouchables. The most fortunate and the most blessed students along with the rest of the class. They need not to be smart nor to be lucky in order to book themselves a scholarship. They even don’t need to take a scholarship! With just a few bucks, their slot in Star Section is secured. They did not have to work hard for it, just like I did. While watching everyone as they opened their parcels, I forced my eyes to be strong and not shed a tear. But it was diffic