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There’s a reason Jay never liked questions thrown back at him.
Because someday, one of them might stick.
And today, Ruthie asked one that did.
“Why are you really here, Jay? Bakit ka talaga lumipat sa school na ’to?”
She wasn’t smiling when she said it.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGSaWqV8fs
Wasn’t teasing.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYaG1Hrnqk
Just staring at him like she already knew the answer.
Jay inhaled slowly.
The truth wasn’t simple.
It had never been.
He wasn’t just an assistant in the school’s media org.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU57vxoDMZv
And he wasn’t there just to finish the semester quietly.
He was there to observe.
To record.
To uncover the person behind a harassment case that had been quietly swept under the rug two years ago.
The school wanted it forgotten.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVo5XRnL0G4
The victim transferred.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqh6Q0sh8L
The teacher “retired early.”
But someone high up didn’t let it go.
That someone—an old family friend who still believed in consequences—asked Jay to look into it.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21TyXnsUS3
He wasn’t a cop. But he had access. He had training.
And he had reasons.
Ruthie wasn’t even a suspect at first.
But her name kept showing up.
Marginal notes. Old logs. Rumors.
The last girl the victim talked to before she vanished?20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpmYFcXT9z
Ruthie.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRyobLDLZM
The only one who stood up to the accused teacher in class?20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FwGdPbl0V
Ruthie.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPqGJGXNj9
The one who disappeared from orgs that year without explanation?
Ruthie.
Jay didn’t want to believe it.
She was too sharp, too haunted, too full of fight to be part of something dirty.
But he knew better than to trust what people showed.
And Ruthie never showed everything.
“Jay,” she said again, arms crossed. “Sino ka ba talaga?”
He stepped closer to her locker. Looked her in the eye.
“I’m here to find out the truth.”
“About what?”
“About a teacher who ruined someone’s life. And maybe about the people who let it happen.”
“And you think ako ’yon?”
Her voice didn’t rise. But her jaw tightened.
“No. But your name keeps coming up.”
Silence.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaeIl3x0Tf
Then laughter—short, bitter.
“Of course it does. Lahat naman ng mali, idinidikit na lang sa pangalan ko.”
She looked away, shaking her head.
“You think I was part of it?”
“I don’t want to think that.”
“But you did.”
Jay didn’t respond.
Because she was right.
He saw the hurt in her eyes, even when she blinked it away.
But instead of storming off, she leaned against the wall. Voice lower, cracked.
“I knew about the teacher.”
Jay’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“I knew what he was doing. Hindi ako bulag. Pero wala akong nagawa.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No,” she said quickly. “But he hurt someone close to me. And she begged me not to speak.”
Jay’s stomach twisted.
“So you kept it.”
“Wouldn’t you?”
She turned toward him.
“Kung lahat ng makakalaban sa’yo, mas mataas sa posisyon mo, may hawak na sikreto mo, at wala kang pamilya na pwedeng sumalo… wouldn’t you?”
Jay didn’t answer.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBTahO4IIu
Because that wasn’t a question—it was a confession.
And maybe the real reason Ruthie’s name kept showing up…20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDPTXmWCnC
Wasn’t because she was guilty.
It was because she was trying to survive.
“The girl who vanished,” Jay said slowly, “do you know where she is?”
Ruthie looked up.
“No. I wish I did.”
She paused.
“But I remember her name.”
“Tell me.”
“Mae. Mae Galvez.”
Jay filed it away.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Just… don’t turn this into another story where I’m the villain.”
He stepped closer.
“I won’t.”
She looked unconvinced.
So he added—
“But if you remember anything else… you can tell me. Kahit hindi bilang investigator. Bilang ako.”
Ruthie’s gaze softened for the first time.
“That’s dangerous, Jay.”
“What is?”
“Believing I’m worth trusting.”
“Then make me regret it.”
They stood in silence for a moment. The hallway was empty.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvu1nrqdKk
The lockers cold. The world suspended.
And for the first time, Jay felt that this case wasn’t just something to solve.
It was something to understand.
Later that night, he sat in his room, re-reading old files.
Mae Galvez.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5AeuW1osm
One picture. One audio recording. A journal entry with parting words: “He said no one would believe me. I think he’s right.”
Jay clenched his fists.
The same teacher Ruthie had argued with.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTLtwfzcIG
The same teacher who had left quietly, after a “scandal” was buried.
“She wasn’t lying,” he whispered.
And Ruthie—Ruthie had held that secret like a thorn in her mouth for years.
He texted her.
Jay: You did the right thing surviving.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wVATvANIW
Jay: But you don’t have to survive alone anymore.
She didn’t reply.
But he saw the three dots.
Then they vanished.
And that was enough for tonight.
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