Setting: A popular open-air restaurant just outside the university gates later that evening.
The place is lively, filled with the loud chatter of college students, clinking glasses, and the mouth-watering aroma of local dishes.
Bright string lights hang overhead, and a hot, sizzling plate of pork sisig sits right in the center of the table.
______________________________________________
Lest: (Dramatically pushes the sizzling hot plate of sisig right to the center of the wooden table, gesturing to it with his spoon like a presenter.) “Behold! Actual, real food! No more instant cup noodles for you tonight, Seth. Eat up, or I am going to personally feed you myself. I swear, you look like you’ve shrunk an inch just from stress today!”
Jasper: (Suddenly slams his hands on the table, leaning forward with wide eyes and a hyper-serious expression, mimicking an interrogation lamp.) “Alright, suspect! The food has arrived, which means your temporary bail from this morning is officially over! Rey, turn on the mental flashlight! It’s time to make him talk!”
Rey: (Chuckles softly, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed as he studies my face like a seasoned detective.) “Let’s review the timeline, Jasper. Yesterday at lunch, he freezes completely like a statue in the canteen. This morning, we catch him staring out at the courtyard lawn like he’s searching for a hidden clue, and his face turns a bright crimson red out of nowhere. Seth, as your future law-enforcement counsel, I advise you to confess. What is causing this system malfunction?”
Seth: (Scoops a small spoon of the sizzling sisig onto my plate, keeping my eyes fixed firmly on my food to avoid their intense stares.) “I told you guys three times on the walk over here. It’s just academic burnout. My thesis code has a massive calculation error, and it’s making my brain short-circuit. The chest tightness is probably just from drinking way too much black coffee on an empty stomach.” (I mutter defensively, trying to sound completely logical, even though my heart does a nervous skip just remembering her signature purple star hair clip.)
Lest: (Throws his hands in the air dramatically, turning to Rey and Jasper.) “Oh, listen to him!
Still blaming the math!
Seth, your face doesn’t turn bright pink over a coding error!
I’ve seen your coding errors, they just make you swear and slam your mouse.” (He stands up suddenly from the table, looking around for a waiter.) “Wait, guys, this restaurant doesn’t have any Coke in stock?
How can we eat spicy sisig without a cold drink?
Seth, come with me across the street to 7-Eleven.
Let’s go buy a 1.5-liter bottle of Coke to wash this down before Rey and Jasper completely drive you crazy.”
Jasper: (Shouts dramatically as Lest and I stand up to leave the table.) “Aha! The suspect is attempting to flee the jurisdiction! Rey, monitor the perimeter!”
Rey: (Smirks, waving his hand playfully.) “Let them go, Jasper. They’ll be back. The sisig is too good to leave behind.”
🎬 [ SETTING SHIFT: THE CAMPUS 7-ELEVEN ]
Seth: (Walks slowly down the chilled beverage aisle of the brightly lit 7-Eleven, sliding open the heavy glass door of the cooler. I reach inside and grab a heavy, cold 1.5-liter bottle of Coca-Cola, the condensation instantly freezing against my calloused palms. My mind is still completely drained, and my shoulders feel heavy under my hoodie.)
Lest: (Stands a few aisles away near the chip section, muttering restlessly to himself as he shuffles through the packages on the shelves.) “Hey, Seth! Keep an eye on the soda! I’m going to look around over here for my favorite snack. They finally restocked those spicy chips I like, and if I don’t grab a bag now, the dorm crowd is going to buy them all by tonight!” (He disappears completely behind a tall shelf of savory snacks, completely distracted.)
Seth: (Nods quietly, closing the cooler door with a soft thud. I clutch the heavy 1.5-liter bottle against my chest, ready to walk toward the checkout counters to wait for him. But as I take a slow step forward, a heavy wave of reality hits me. I realize that ever since that intense eye contact in the canteen yesterday, I hadn’t seen her on campus at all today. I had spent the entire morning and afternoon subconsciously searching the crowded walkways, but her gentle presence was nowhere to be found. The lack of catching even a distant glimpse of her had left my chest feeling unusually empty and heavy all day.)
Seth: (With a small, defeated sigh, I step out of the drink aisle and turn the corner—and my feet instantly freeze flat against the linoleum floor. My fingers tighten around the cold plastic bottle with absolute shock.)
Seth: (Stares in absolute silence at the front counter just a few feet away. Standing right there, waiting for the cashier, is you. My heart instantly does a violent, frantic double-flip against my ribs, and every single ounce of my heavy stress and day-long exhaustion completely vanishes in a split second. After a whole day of not seeing you anywhere on campus, your sudden, pure presence here acts like a perfect protective shield, immediately curing the deep sorrow in my chest.)
Seth: (Watches you silently from the shadows of the snack aisle, completely transfixed. You look absolutely radiant under the bright convenience store lights, wearing a beautiful, flowing casual dress that looks so elegant. Your dark hair is tied back neatly with your signature purple star hair clip, holding your strands perfectly in place. Just looking at your quiet world from a distance silences all the loud, chaotic engineering stress screaming in my head, leaving my logical mind completely disorganized and spinning in total confusion.)
Seth: (Suddenly, as you reach into your tote bag to grab your keys, your hand accidentally catches on your hair. Unknowingly, the movement loosens your hair clip. The signature purple star hair clip slips off entirely, dropping silently onto the linoleum floor right by the edge of the counter. You don’t even feel it happen, completely unaware that it’s gone as your dark strands fall loosely past your shoulders. You simply grab your items from the cashier, turn away from the counter, and walk right out into the cool night.)
Seth: (The moment it drops, my eyes dart to the floor. My independent nature urges me to move, to call out and return it right away. I take a frantic step forward, my hand opening to hand it back to you. I want to give it back right now—but everything happens way too fast. Before the words can even leave my throat, the automatic glass doors slide shut, and you disappear quickly down the dark concrete pathway outside. The entire interaction is over in the blink of an eye, leaving me completely stranded at the counter.)
Seth: (My heart thumps wildly against my ribs as the cashier looks away. Realizing I lost my chance to return it instantly, I quickly pick up the purple star hair clip from the linoleum floor. The soft fabric feels cool against my palm. I hurriedly slide her signature mark deep into the front pocket of my hoodie, hiding it safely away until I can find another way to give it back to you.)
Lest: (Suddenly walks out from the snack aisle, holding a big bag of his favorite chips and sighing loudly with an over-the-top grin.) “Yes!
Found it!
They actually had the last bag hidden in the back row!
Hey, Seth, did you grab the 1.5-liter—” (He stops talking abruptly when he reaches my side, his eyes widening to the size of saucers as he looks at my frozen, rigid posture and my completely flushed face.) “Wait… hold on a second.
Seth?
Why are you hiding in your hood again?
Why does your face look like a tomato?!”
Seth: (Clears my throat roughly, turning my back to the counter and pushing the heavy bottle of coke into Lest’s hands, desperately trying to rush toward the back of the store before he can notice anything.) “It’s nothing, Lest! Let’s just… let’s just wait in the back for a minute! The air conditioner in here is just really stuffy, okay? Stop making a whole drama out of nothing!” (I mutter frantically under my breath, my voice shaking slightly as my hand stays tightly clamped over the pocket containing her hair clip, completely unaware of why her presence can effortlessly shatter my independent world.)
.)🎬 [ SETTING SHIFT: BACK AT THE RESTAURANT ]
Seth: (Walks back into the open-air restaurant with Lest a few minutes later, holding the 1.5-liter bottle of coke. My face is still slightly warm, but I sit back down at our wooden table and pull my hood down, desperately trying to look composed.)
Jasper: (Leans forward instantly, narrowing his eyes with theatrical intensity.) “Aha! The suspects return! Look at the micro-expressions, Detective Rey! He’s avoiding direct eye contact with the council! He’s aggressively mixing his rice! He is completely cornered by the facts! Come on, Seth, we’re your best friends. Who is the anomaly? Did a ghost follow you from that 7-Eleven?”
Seth: (Winces slightly at the mention of 7-Eleven, my cheeks threatening to flare up all over again as my fingers nervously brush against the hidden hair tie in my pocket.
I quickly take a massive bite of the spicy sisig to try and hide it, coughing slightly from the heat.) “It’s nothing, okay? Seriously, it’s nothing.” (I argue firmly, shutting down their many questions with a stubborn shake of my head.
I refuse to give them a single detail because I genuinely don’t know what these strange, chaotic symptoms in my chest even mean yet.)
Rey: (Raises an eyebrow, leaning in to press harder, treating it like a real case.) “Come on, Seth. A ‘nothing’ doesn’t cause a complete system override. You can’t stonewall a room full of criminology majors. Just give us a department, or a hint.”
Seth: (Keeps my eyes locked tightly on my plate, my voice completely guarded and serious.) “I said it’s nothing, Rey. Drop it. I’m just exhausted, and I have a mountain of calculations to finish by tomorrow morning. There is no secret, and there is no anomaly. It’s just stress.” (I insist defensively, firmly drawing the line to protect my peace. I am completely bewildered by why my body keeps panicking like this, totally unsure of what these feelings mean, so I just lock them away.)
Jasper: (Sighs dramatically, slouching back into his plastic chair with a disappointed groan.) “Man! Talk about a tough nut to crack! The suspect is a brick wall! Not even a sizzling plate of sisig can make the great independent Seth confess!”
Rey: (Smirks, tapping his fingers on the table as he signs off on the investigation for the night.) “Fine, keep your secrets for now. But notice how he completely locked down? Classic defensive stonewalling. We might not have broken him tonight, boys, but the case file stays wide open. He can’t hide this ‘nothing’ forever.”
Lest: (Sighs, but offers a genuine, supportive smile as he clinks his glass of water against my plate, easing the tension.) “Well, even if it really is just a stressful ‘nothing,’ I’m just glad to see some actual color back in your face, man. Just promise us you’ll stop being a lone wolf and actually finish your dinner tonight.”
Seth: (Looks up at the three of them, feeling a deep wave of gratitude cut through my total confusion.
Even though they are being incredibly over-dramatic and annoying with their relentless interrogations, having them around makes the heavy weight of my everyday stress feel a little lighter.) “Yeah, yeah. I’m eating, Lest. Thanks.” (I mutter, offering a small, rare smile as I take another bite.
But as the boys laugh and continue joking around under the bright string lights, my eyes instinctively drift out toward the dark street outside the restaurant, silently wondering why the calm image of a flowing purple dress and a shining purple star hair clip is the only thing that can truly silence the noise in my head.)
[ END OF CHAPTER 5 ]