Chapter 32: The Plan

                                    

                                          
LUKE | October 27, 2023, 28 hours before the murder
"YOU know I shouldn't be here."
We just entered the school library. It's already ten in the evening, and no one should actually be here. "Just trust me. I have a surprise for you."
"You know, Luke, I'm out. I can't do this." 
I reached his arm at slammed him in the bookshelf. "You will do everything I say, because if you don't, I will kill the shit out of you. Do you understand?" He flinched at the word 'kill'.
"Y-Yes, I'll do as you say."
I released his collar and took a deep breath. "Tomorrow's the party. I will be the one taking care of this library the whole day. I'll keep the library close. Lalabas ka lang kapag sinabi ko, naiintindihan mo?"

"Yes."
Itinulak ko na siya papasok sa secret room dito sa library kung saan nagpapahinga ang mga librarian kapag switch duties nila. 
"I you try to escape, I will kill you. You can't hide from me, so you have no choice but to follow me."
I locked him inside and took my phone. "Sejean, you there?"
"Yep, everything good?"
"He's locked inside. Tuloy na ang plano."
"Okay, then I'm ready."
"I'll call Danica and tell her to lure father into telling the truth about me and Raven."
***
LUKE | October 28, 2023, 8 hours before the murder
"SERIOUSLY? A stupid Halloween party?"
Napangisi na lang ako nang marinig ko ang boses ni Vlad. I heard him on the phone with Jaime earlier this day. Sinabi niya kung saan siya gagayak. Luckily, he's going with our plan without him even knowing about what's going to happen. I knew exactly where he'd be, so here I am, in a fucking cubicle.
"You're fucking hot, Vlad." And he's even talking to himself.
Lumabas na ako ng cubicle at humarap lang sa salamin.
"I guess you heard what I just said. How did you make that slash on your face look so real, huh?" 
"It looks real because it's real."
Except it's actually a lie. Detective Danica and I took more than an hour to perfect this prosthetic makeup. Honestly, this was an essential part of our plan. This is how we'll come up with a conclusion that Vlad is the one who killed me. Kung makikita nila ang sugat sa iisang side ng mukha ko, magiging malinaw sa kanilang lahat na setup ang mangyayari kung ididiin pa rin namin na si Vlad ang killer. Pero kung naiiba ang sagot ng isa sa kanila, hindi nila magagawang isipin na baka may sabwatang nangyayari between me, Sejean, and Detective Danica. Or even doubt if I actually died because of that one wound. Iyon lang ang magiging butas sa statement nilang lahat dahil in the first place, inosente naman talaga sila at magsasabi ng totoo. That was only to create an illusion that Vlad, somehow, might be the killer.
"Dude, you did not just slash your face for this party." 
"I'm always on my hundred percent, Vlad Fernandez. I need the grades." 
"Nice talk, man. Good luck with the games."
"Yeah. You, too. Don't die with those fake guns.