The Story Of Summer (Ch. 7): Trust

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It’s the middle of the night. Crystal has been sitting on her bed, staring blankly into space; she won’t be able to sleep unless she knows what just happened—until she understands what just happened. She jerks her back up to an erect position. She has had enough: she must do something about this complication, and being catatonic wouldn't fix anything.

It has been around half an hour since someone knocked. She deems it now safe to go outside and look for her sister. Crystal hastily stumbles towards the door, opens it, and stops dead on her tracks; there, to her surprise, is a box. Slowly she flips up the flaps and finds loads of clothes she has lent to Sunshine.

“What?” Crystal is terrorized. Isn’t she the one who has told her sister to forget a man who seemingly took her for granted? But now she has realized how perfect they were. She shakes her head. Not the right time to think about too serious a problem; she will think about it later. She must settle for a less serious problem right now—she hyperventilates—like how Chip is really a bad guy. A killer, to be precise.

Chip is a murderer.

Crystal runs through the halls and up the stairs, to the rooftop. She's right that she'd find her sister there—who is mounting the Plane. Crystal wastes no time.

“And where do you think you're going?” she demands.

Sunshine almost slips down the ladder. “Crystal!” Her brows arched as rainbows. She looks genuinely surprised. “What are you doing up so late?”

“We have to talk.”

“Thought you’re busy crying over a Hollywood couple?”

Crystal gapes. So it wasn’t Chip who had been knocking? “We—where are you going?

“Somewhere.”

Crystal runs towards Sunshine, grabs one of her arms and drags her down. She looks to the left, then to the right. “What the hell is happening with you and Rick?” she hisses.

Sunshine mocks a laugh, and abruptly stops. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Answer me!” Crystal digs her glittery fingernails into the skin of Sunshine’s shoulders covered in healing mosquito bites.

Sunshine grimaces, tempted to scratch. Irritated, she faces Crystal while prying the fingers off herself. “What do you want?”

“What happened with you and your boyfriend? I mean your ex-boyfriend.”

“Ex-boyfriend?”

“He just informed me that you guys… are… are over.” Crystal shivers at the thought.

Sunshine's ears turn pink to the tips. “Well,” she fumes, “Rick and I were never together!” She paces back to the Plane.

“Oh, please! I always caught you guys kissing over there.” Crystal points towards the rooftop’s edge. “What cha call that? Close friendship?”

Sunshine's whole face flushes. Yeah, what would she call that? A superfluous 'friendly' relationship? Could it have been called friendly at all? But that doesn’t matter now because she has the right not to answer, and her sister doesn’t have the right to question her in the first place. And… and… Rick is such a liar. While thinking about this, Sunshine has already jumped inside the plane. “Ask him!” She starts the Plane.

“I hope you’d listen to him! What he's been trying to tell you might be true!”

“Nothing he’s ever told me is true, Crys!” Sunshine growls. She sniffs, fighting tears. “He’s told me I’m the only one he’s gonna love for life… but we both know he lied...”

The glass door of the Plane closes. The aircraft takes off into the sky and slowly vanishes from Crystal’s view.

“Oh, Shine…”

Crystal goes back to her bedroom, falling into short, nightmare-tripped naps while waiting for her sister to come home.

It's dawn. Crystal hears the Plane landing. She promptly changes into her suit and tries to confront Sunshine; but her sister wouldn't talk to her.

But Crystal won't give up that easily. Wherever Sunshine goes, she follows.

“Stop stalking me,” Sunshine tells Crystal.

They're in the kitchen.

“Shine, try to listen to him,” Crystal anxiously whispers. “Please.”

“What is there to listen to?” Sunshine whispers back.

“That we might actually be in real danger. Lives are at stake here.”

Their conversation is interrupted because a young man enters the kitchen. The twins gape at him. Chip has walked in. Unmasked.

“Chip?” Sunshine asks. She can't help but to stare.

Chip blushes. “I—I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were having a conversation.” Crystal eyes him. “It’s just Derek that—ate all the food. And…” he trails off, taking a step back.

“No, it’s okay,” Sunshine says. “What were you asking for?”

“I hadn’t had any breakfast yet. Can I—can I have something to eat?”

“No,” Crystal firmly says.

Chip’s mouth forms a little O. Crystal hasn't talked to him like that before. She usually just gives him whatever he needs. He might as well leave the twins if only he doesn’t feel so hungry. “May I have something to eat?” he corrects himself.

“No. Try asking again.”

“Can I—I have something to eat?”

“No,” Crystal drawls on. She has meant to imitate the Magic Conch Shell.

“For crying out loud, Crystal!” Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Get anything you want, Chip, please, I beg you,” and goes out of the kitchen.

Crystal feels her back turn rigid. I’m alone with a murderer. She needs a plan. Maybe take down Chip herself. But what if Chip really is as strong as Rick tells he is? She knows that Chip puts small chips on robots to disable them in nanoseconds, but she wonders what Chip can do that can actually kill people.

Chip shyly approaches the refrigerator. Crystal diverts her eyes from him, suddenly aware not to give Chip a clue that she already knows his real agenda. But she couldn’t help it…

When Chip has taken out a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, Crystal summons her most cheerful side and offers Chip a hand.

“Chip let me help you out!” She brightly smiles. “You know I was just kiddin’ around a while ago, right?” She grabs the loaf and forms an ice knife. But instead of slicing the bread, she slings it towards Chip, who in turn catches the knife in his hand, which in turn melts in his touch.

Crystal can’t believe what she’s just seen. Immediately she gasps and cups her mouth with a hand. “Oops!” she says, trying to make it look like an accident.

Chip’s face is stricken with terror, as if he hasn’t planned anyone to know how powerful he really is… yet.

Crystal, ignoring what just happened, continues her act and takes a real knife. What if she’s thrown a real knife instead of the ice one? But she shouldn’t experiment now. If Chip survives, she’ll be on his annihilate-first list. Instead Crystal slices a piece of loaf, puts peanut butter on it, and gives it to Chip, broadening her grin. “Sorry for being rude to you, and the accident,” she says.

“It's okay.” He still looks anxious. Too anxious. Her brows wouldn't relax. “Uh, thanks…” If someone is so strong, why worry?

Crystal excuses herself and exists the kitchen. All she has in mind is the way the ice melted in Chip’s touch. A plan, a plan. She needs a plan. A plan to get Derek and Neil believe her that the young man in the kitchen eating a peanut butter sandwich is a murderer—that he’s been hiding powers and skills from them and soon enough might do something ugly. But Derek is a blabbermouth. She’ll probably just tell Neil. Then she’ll get back to Sunshine. Derek can be at the end of the list.

“Wait, he doesn’t have to know, anyway,” Crystal tells herself.

Crystal goes out of the room to find his brother and as she passes by the library Sunshine manifests by its door

“Crystal, let’s have dinner outside tonight,” Sunshine says, arms full of books.

Crystal nods.

Sunshine is waiting for Crystal to dress up. Going outside to shop or eat is their bonding time. She loves everything about it, except the way she has to wait for her sister to dress up, which takes forever. She sits at the edge of the rooftop, watching the colors to fade from the sky. Another day is passing before her eyes, and it seems that her heart will never once again be at ease.

Turmoil. It is the only thing worse than external affliction. It is the cause rather than the effect. It is never the other way around.

She looks down at the hills around her. They are turning brown as the dry season approaches. Chocolate Hills as they are called.

“Good evening,” a voice greets her.

“Good evening, Chip.” She doesn’t turn around to face him.

“Call me Joe,” he blurts out. “My closest friends call me Joe.”

Surprised at what he said, Sunshine looks at her company. She still can’t get used to his naked face. She stares at him as if to memorize his countenance. He has a face that isn’t ugly; but neither is it a handsome one. It is nevertheless pleasant to look at.

Joe’s eyes intrigues Sunshine very much. He has Vantablack eyes. Almost frightening if they weren't sad eyes, too. Eyes that are troubled. Eyes that seem to be at the verge of crying. She wants to ask why, but she doesn’t.

When he realizes that Sunshine has been staring at him, he blushes. “I thought I could somehow… kill doubts. Now that… you know how I really look.” He says this in hopes that Sunshine understands the new level of relationship he is imposing on her. They are not mere acquaintances anymore; they are now friends. It is up to Sunshine if she will receive the offer.

“Joe,” Sunshine puts a hand on Joe's shoulder, “you know that you’re part of this family now.”

Joe smiles his shy smile. His head jerks like a snapping turtle, Sunshine thinks, trying to hide in its shell, but never quite getting it done. When she was little, she acquired a young snapping turtle as a pet. It looked so harmless and shy. One day, though, it bit her finger and wounded it. Sunshine laughs despite herself in front of Chip. Maybe because the most harmful things in the world are the things that people think are harmless. Like love.

Joe’s smile fades from his face. Sunshine, noticing the swift change of expression says, “My real name is Sunshine. But that doesn’t matter because everyone knows my face.”

“Your face…” Joe says. Sunshine can’t help noticing how odd his voice is this evening. Without asking for permission, he touches her face, slowly, wondering if she would be mad at him. Sunshine feels a sting from his touch, but she doesn’t mind. She is lost in his eyes—his bleak, black, sad eyes. Like an alcove in a room she’ll never find. An alcove that holds a great secret that no human mind could bear.

Suddenly she remembers Rick, his touch; and Joe pulls back his hand as if electrified, shaking his head as if being punched back into reality by the memory that’s not even his. He blushes, his shoulders caving in like a deck of cards arranged as a house and blown by a strong gust of wind. He is about to leave when Sunshine speaks.

“Do—do y—you like it with us?” Sunshine stutters. She wants him to stay. Maybe know more about him.

“Yes,” he rejoins.

“Aren’t your parents missing you?” He’s been staying with the Heroes for ten consecutive days now, helping them with training, how to work together as a team.

“I don’t think so.” He smiles, this time less shyly and more confidently. “Do you like me here?”

“Of course, Joe.”

He nods.

The sun has disappeared. The wind is strong. Sunshine, not knowing what else to say, looks away, watching the stars. Why does she suddenly want Joe’s company so bad? Is it because he reminds her of the other him? Or is because Joe seems different from him? She has this funny notion that maybe he wouldn’t leave her like he did.

Joe sighs and says, “You love him too much, you know.”

Sunshine tosses back her eyes at him. He is blushing once more, deeply mortified by his remark. The tips of his ears redder then a tomato.

Then Sunshine looks away again because Joe just turns redder and because he reminds her of him. She gasps at the hills because they remind her of him, also at the stars because they remind her of him. And when she hears him sigh once more, she looks down at her hands; her eyes don't seem to land its gaze at the right things around her. But these fingers used to be intertwined with his…

“Yes, maybe I—” She looks back but can’t find Joe anymore. “—do.” How can he in such a brief moment and in such silence be gone?

“Joe?”

He’s gone. Just like him.

She was wrong.

Sunshine and Crystal dine in at Sbarro's, Crystal's choice. Last time they went to Itallianis', Sunshine's favorite. They take turns with where to go.

Crystal bites off her slice of pepperoni spinach pizza. “Chip…” They both know they wanted to get away from the others to talk about Chip. “He might be a bad guy. I mean, we must consider that he’s a stranger—”

“You’re starting to sound just like him.” Sunshine cuts off her words, extremely annoyed. She drowns her pasta with basil as if it’s the National Capital Region and the herbs are Ondoy.

“Well, have you listened to Rick’s evidence?”

Sunshine turns stern. “No, he e-mailed them to me. Even before he visited you last night.”

Crystal is annoyed at the sarcasm and the admission of eavesdropping. But now’s not a good time to debate about whether the leader has the right to intrude into her teammates privacy.

“Well, did you read it?”

“Yes.”

Crystal looks from left to right. When satisfied that they aren’t being watched, she asks for Sunshine’s Phone, which Sunshine obediently produces.

Crystal scrutinizes the phone. Opens it. Closes it. “Where is it?”

“What? The transparent chip?” Sunshine puts a spoonful of pasta in her mouth, and is struck by the piquant taste of basil. She grabs the napkin, covering her mouth while chewing and coughing. When she’s swallowed, she says, “I think I need to order a new plate of pasta.” She raises her hand for a waiter. “One half order of baked ziti please.”

All the while Crystal stares dumb. Of course, Sunshine has spotted the chip. She's smart like that.

“What?” Sunshine drinks some water.

“You know about the transparent chip.”

“Yes, I was trying to fix my Phone when it fell off. You?”

“When I threw it ‘cause… ‘cause I was mad at Derek. It fell off and I pricked my foot when I stepped on it.” She’s careful not to say, ’cause I thought Derek was right.

Sunshine giggles in a way Crystal hasn’t seen her done for months—since the seemingly break-up with Rick.

“I went to the island this morning,” Sunshine says. Her plate of pasta comes. “Thank you.” She’s careful not to put too much basil.

Crystal hasn’t bitten her pizza more than once. She is too engrossed in their conversation. “Which island?”

“The one where the ‘rare’ signal was located. Where else?”

Crystal can sense the change in Sunshine’s tone. Her tone is too high-pitched compared with the previous days. Confident. Too confident. What could have happened? What could have she found?

“Why did you go there?”

“To check out the lair.”

“Did you find anything?”

“I found this.” Sunshine shows Crystal her Phone, on the screen a familiar symbol.

“What about the Mad Scientist’s symbol?”

“It’s on all of the robots.”

“And?”

“It’s also on the transparent chip.” She pulls out the chip from her bag.

“What does that prove?”

“I don’t know.” Sunshine smirks. “It could be anything. We can draw a number of conclusions.”

“What do you mean?”

“Certain creatures in this world have similar builds: evolutionists would say it's because we all came from the same sole, initial organism; creationist would say it's a sign of one Designer. Facts are not necessarily proofs. Facts don't speak for themselves.”

Crystal, irritated, finds the urge to fill her mouth with bits of pizza. “Rick’s got files, don’t forget—from the underground organization he’s currently working for.”

“How can we take those files seriously when the organization itself is a secret?”

Crystal feels silly. When Rick was showing her the files, she felt like throwing up from the seemingly strong evidence before her. Now it feels like they're all dog crap. “And what do you suppose is the most sensible conclusion?”

Sunshine pushes her plate aside and clasps her hands together. Leaning forward she looks Crystal straight in the eyes and begins to talk. “The chip most probably belongs to the Mad Scientist. It was attached to our devices while fighting his robots for a week.”

“Or maybe Chip and the Mad Scientist belong to the E.V.I.L and that’s their symbol.” Crystal pinches the middle of her forehead. She senses a headache coming.

“Exactly!”

“What are you trying to say, Sunshine? You’re trying to say something, or you’re trying to hide something! But either way you’re playing with me!” She’s so peeved. She throws her napkin on her pizza. “You’re spinning me in circles!”

“As long as there are not enough evidences, we can’t accuse Joe.”

“Joe?”

“Chip.”

“Who?”

“He approached me earlier this evening. He said I can call him Joe—”

“That’s it! Joseph Pratt—”

“Oh, the Vietnamese assassin?” Sunshine shakes her head. “He would’ve changed his name, Crys. He would’ve given himself a different name. If he really is Joseph Pratt, he would deflect all clues from his true identity—from his true purpose.”

Crystal falls silent. Her sister is probably right. “Maybe he’s stupid enough to—‘’

“To what?”

Silence.

“Ha! And he said that I wasn’t thinking.” Sunshine laughs and takes back her plate. “I’ve neutralized that arrow-head’s accusations.”

“Is that what this is all about?” Crystal glowers at Sunshine. “To prove Rick wrong? Well, I’m sick of you guys! And no, you didn’t neutralize his accusations, you’ve just confused me the more. And if Chip or Joe or whatever is really from the E.V.I.L, you’re securing our deaths!” She slammed the desk, attracting eyes.

Crystal stands and leaves. Sunshine doesn’t follow her. She eats her pasta on her own, about to cry. The truth is so clear to her now: She’s protecting Chip—the potential Joseph Pratt, their potential murderer—so she could hurt Rick. Now it looks like she’s hurt someone else she hasn’t meant to.

Crystal has been crying on the way home, and everything felt even worse when someone catches her in the hallway and greets her home.

“Hey, what happened?” Derek asks, sympathetic. “Where’s Shine?”

“Get lost, Derek,” she opens her door, but Derek holds her arm and stops her.

“Aw, c’mon. What happened?”

Crystal gives in, and collapses in her cousin’s arms.

Derek strokes her hair. “I know we’re mutual enemies, but we’re still cousins, so lemme know what happened.”

Crystal sniffs. “What do you want from me?”

Derek laughs, and says teasingly but sweetly, “I’ll buy ice cream if you tell me.”

“Okay. But you don’t have to buy me ice cream. You might make me pay back in your time of crisis.” Crystal smiles.

It’s good to have a friend.

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