It's weird how people have their own way of deciding things; Have you ever noticed it? Looked into it, checked the signs, observed? Some people would go to such lengths to decide. Some say it’s for the thrill; the adrenaline they feel fuels them to the unknown road they will get on; it's really a weird thing, isn’t it? I don’t get it. I really don’t. Do I wish to know?

Do I even wanna know why?

Do I really want to know that the possible cause of this ending that she got was just because of a gacha decision that someone made? I don’t know. It’s dumb.

Honestly speaking, it’s interesting.

What’s going on inside your head, Javier?

The cicadas are loud as usual; even with the windows glued shut, it doesn’t block the chirping of the cicadas, but it's enough. The classroom seemed unbothered by the sound outside; the weather outside seems to be quite decent, just a normal summer afternoon on a Tuesday with some people whispering and talking about people; the usual gossiping is best described as the icing on top of a dessert.

“Hey, did you hear about what happened to…Em-”

“Hush! Do not mention her name!”

The room is not quiet, not too loud, since students are murmuring, then a sharp BANG! The wooden sliding door forcefully opened; the room went dead quiet, eyes darted to the direction of the loud sound; the air felt heavy, and students were silent as if holding their breath.

Badump.

Badump.

Badump.

The person who opened the door went in. When they realized who that person was, some of them went back to their chairs and avoided eye contact; every move she made, every step she took, the students flinched. After walking past every row and column, she stopped in front of Mei, who was sitting in the back row, near the door.

She loomed over Mei, casting a shadow. Mei looked up; the first thing she noticed was her colored hair, the sun hitting the blonde color of her hair, the black roots standing out a bit. Her gaze slowly drifted to her uniform; it was ridiculous she wasn't even wearing the proper uniform, and she got away with it?. She weirdly wore her uniform; her blouse was worn as an open, buttoned-up polo, exposing a jersey shirt from the sports club softball, perhaps? As her gaze went down shes wearing skirts layered over a pair of jogging pants underneath. And is she wearing a pair of sneakers?

“You.” The blonde girl muttered under her breath, leaning down to meet Mei’s gaze.

Mei smiled innocently, even tilting her head to the side. “Yes?” She asked in an innocent, clueless tone. Mei kept the tone and just looked the blonde straight in the eyes. The blonde’s eyes felt like they were going to burn a hole right into Mei’s face, and the overall vibes made the air feel suffocating; everyone was waiting to see what her next move would be.

After a while, she leaned close to Mei’s ear. And whispered, her voice lowered so that only Mei could hear whatever she was going to say.

Mei could feel the warmth from her breath; the ticking of the clock felt as if it were the loudest thing in the room. Some of the students were looking, but they didn’t dare to move their heads fully, just peek to avoid whatever was happening.

“How are you alive…?”

Mei’s innocent smile was suddenly wiped from her face.

Tic

Toc

Tic

Toc

Tic

“Hey, Em. Do you remember that girl? The new one?”

“Ha? Who are you talking about?”

“Kwan…The uhhh, you know! The girl who has dark hair…pale? Ring any bells?”

[Kwan: Kwan is the word used to replace a name for a thing/name/etc. that's forgotten momentarily. ]

Emily just stares at Javier, her brows knitted, no clue who Javier was talking about. Then Emily gasps, slamming her fist down on the table with force.

“That smug grinning bitch.”

“What? No…I mean, yeah, but minus the bitch.” Javier said, a bit confused and surprised, as if trying to calm Emily down. “Anyway, yeah, her. She stopped me by the gates yesterday, asking to be her friend…What a weirdo…”

Emily listened, and a dark, grim expression appeared on her face. Emily isn’t really interested in the story; she looked like someone who was plotting, and immediately this made Javier uncomfortable; she already knew that Emily was up to something.

“Em…What are you thinking…”

“Be close to her. Be her friend and invite her to the party next week.”

“Em…”

“Invite that smug bitch. Sumunod ka na lang.” (Just do what I say.)

Javier was against it; the mere idea of befriending someone for their own cruel entertainment. She wanted to say no, but how could Javier say to Emily? 

“I don't want her to hate me…”

Javier didn’t say no and just accepted it, said yes, that she would do it, but that doesn't mean she's one of those poor, sad victims who were forced into something they didn’t like. 

“What do I do?”

“I’m scared…”

“But Emily is going to hate me if I…”

I mean, she could've just said no, risking their friendship, but at least her conscience would be clean. But here she is, doing the dirty deeds too whenever Emily says, and Emily does. Javier would just be there saying yes to everything, and because of this, she’s just as foul as the other, as foul as Emily.

Heads or Tails

“Heads…I’ll do it…Tails, I don’t do it...”

She rummages for a coin in her pocket, finding a 5-peso coin. She takes a deep breath and exhales. Javier flips the coin and catches it mid-air and slams it on the back of her palm, her eyes closed shut.

She peeked.

Oh.

The bell rang.

Some of the students rushed towards the door, gathering their stuff and immediately heading out of the classroom until its just Javier and Mei in the classroom.

“How are you still alive…”

Javier’s face turned pale, her breathing a bit ragged. Slowly, her hand balled up into a fist, clenching it until she could feel her nails digging into her palm.

“What’s up with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something?” Mei asked with that smile on her face. She was about to reach out to lend a hand to Javier, but she immediately slapped her hand away.

“Do not touch me…” Javier said with a disgusted expression on her face; she was confused and overwhelmed.

“What did you do to Emily…?”

Mei sighed, shaking her head slowly. She then gathered her stuff, placing it all in her bag and closing it. She then stood up. And walked past Javier, standing near her, whispering so only she could hear Mei.

“You’re not asking the right questions.” 

Javier clenched her palm, her nails digging into her palm. She could feel a small sting on her palm. Unconsciously biting her lower lip enough to make it bleed for a bit. The moment she turned around, Mei was already gone, and so were the other students, leaving Javier in a spacious, empty room.

“I checked the pulse…there was no heartbeat…how?...”

Her breath then became ragged; chasing her breathing, she kicked one of the tables and carried a chair, throwing it down. Her legs gave out, making her sit in the mess she made.

“Tangina…what…what should I do…Emily…Emily…I don’t-”

She recalled the time she flipped the coin, when she decided what to do, whether she should be friends with Mei or not; it was Tails. It came out tails, and yet. She still befriended her, still did what Emily asked her.

She thought, it's Emily.

So, she’ll do it for her.

For Emily.

“I shouldn’t have done it…This…Emily made me do it…Yeah, I’ll tell them that…” She mutters under her breath.

Unconsciously, she rummages in her pocket and pulls out a peso coin. She stared at it.

“Heads, I’ll go to the police…Tails, I’ll kill Mei again…”

Moments of silence, then a familiar voice accompanied by slow clapping. Javier’s face turned pale as she slowly turned her face toward the direction of the voice. She could feel her blood run cold. As much as Javier wanted to speak, to say something, it was as if she swallowed her tongue; nothing came out, not a single peep.

“There it is again. You’re doing it again. You can’t decide for yourself; you lean on Emily for answers, and now that Emily isn’t here again, you resort to those coins. You're pathetic, Javier. Really.”

“What do you mean gone?”

“Emily is gone.” Mei brings out an eerie-looking book and opens it, revealing what happened to Emily: her mouth was sewn, and the book ate her.

“You’re doing this for revenge, right? That's probably it! You… you're a witch! I knew something was wrong with you all this time!”

Javier immediately takes a part of the broken chair and points it towards Mei. Mei chuckled. As she read something from the book, which summoned a doll that resembled Javier.

“Since you liked being told what to do, why don’t you tell me what happened in those woods?”

“Woods? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!-” Before she could even finish, she instantly said the answer to Mei’s question.

“You were dead. I checked...” Javier muttered as she slowly bit her nail. After Javier said those words, her eyes turned red.

“Who the fuck are you…I made sure Mei died…I MADE IT SURE! SO WHY, WHY ARE YOU ALIVE?!”

Mei’s face just looked empty; her eyes didn’t hold any pity, and her demeanor changed. She lowered herself to have a close look at Javier. She gripped the doll she was holding tightly, and Javier winced from the pain inflicted by the doll.

“Tell me everything. From the moment you met Mei. I’ll know if you lie. So, be smart about this. Don't feed me lies as Emily did.”