The news spread like wildfire. The next day, Anthony’s ordeal made national headlines. People blamed the University, claiming it had been negligent. But I knew better.
“Miss Azora!”
My steps halted as I moved forward and I turned to the caller. It was my programming professor.
“Sir?” I stepped closer to him. “What’s wrong?”
“Please pass this to your class mayor. We’re having an emergency meeting, so I won’t be able to attend class today.”
“Okay.” I accepted what he handed me.
“Are you friends with Mr. Anthony, Miss Azora?”
I froze for a second before regaining my composure. I quickly shook my head. “No, Sir.”
He nodded and smiled. “I’ll go, Miss Azora.” He turned and took a step away but then stopped and looked back at me. “By the way, please see me at the admin office later. The police want to ask you something.”
I was dumbfounded. “Police?”
“Miss Jenica mentioned that you’re a friend of Mr. Anthony. The police want to get your statement regarding what happened.” He fixed his gaze on me. “Would you like to call your parents, Miss Azora?”
Dad?
I quickly shook my head at his suggestion. “No. Just a question, really. So, I’m okay with it.”
“Good. I’ll go now, Miss Azora.”
“Okay, Sir.”
I watched his retreating figure, taking a deep breath. The police are just going to ask questions, right? I shouldn’t be scared.
As I entered the classroom, I saw my classmates gathered together, discussing what happened to Anthony last night.
“Jenica was the one who found the body,” one girl said.
Her companion nodded. “Maybe she’s the one who did it.”
I cringed at what I heard. Gossip was amusing when it didn’t involve me, but it was different when it did. So, I decided not to listen and handed the folder to the class mayor, as instructed by the professor.
The class mayor looked at me from head to toe, smirking. “Are you friends with Anthony, Azora?” she asked.
I looked back at the class mayor, feeling the silence enveloping the room as everyone’s gaze fell on me. I smiled wryly.
Why were they suspecting me? I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t have any enemies!
“Azora,” she called, laughing suddenly. “What’s with that face? I’m just asking if you’re friends with Anthony.”
“No…” I shook my head.
She frowned. “But I always see you two eating together at the canteen.” She grinned. “Don’t deny it.”
“I’m not his friend…” I said. It was the truth. Anthony wasn’t just a friend; he was my boyfriend.
Maybe they couldn’t associate Anthony with being my boyfriend because, to them, Anthony was like a star, so close yet so far to touch.
The class mayor shrugged and smirked. “Look at your face, Azora. Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” She scanned the classroom. “I’m just asking if you’re friends with him. Is it that hard to answer my question?”
“I already answered you.” I smiled and steadied my voice.
She looked at me again, a grin plastered on her face. “Okay. No hard feelings, Zor. I was just about to ask if Anthony had any enemies?”
I looked away. “I don’t know,” I whispered. And I was telling the truth because Anthony kept things to himself and didn’t share anything with me.
In the month that we are together, I hadn’t met anyone who was his enemy. He wasn’t a troublemaker. He wasn’t a black sheep. In fact, he was very well-known on campus because he was part of the student council and also a campus journalist. But I didn’t know what was happening behind the scenes, if he had enemies or not. At least now, I had an idea that Dad and Anthony’s father had a history that even I, his daughter, didn’t know about.
“Okay,” the class mayor suddenly said. “Go back to your seat. Prof might have finished his meal.”
The noise returned to the classroom. I glanced at the professor’s desk. There was no one behind it. “Have you been here for a while?” I asked.
“No. We just came in when you entered the door.”
“Okay.”
I quietly made my way to my seat but paused as I remembered something. I called the class mayor again. “Prof is not comin. They’re having an emergency meeting in the faculty.”
The classroom fell silent again.
The class mayor cursed. “Why didn’t you say it earlier?” She looked down at the folder and opened it. She cursed again. “We have an activity, guys. Tary, write this on the whiteboard,” she instructed our secretary.
I sighed and sat in my designated seat. I immediately took out my laptop and opened the compiler program.
I started typing the code base for the problem given by the professor. But even as I typed on the keyboard, I couldn’t shake off thoughts of Anthony.
The scene from last night was still vivid in my memory. Because of fear, I didn’t go home. I booked a room in a nearby hotel instead. I was twenty, so it wasn’t difficult for me to book a reservation, especially since I had a valid ID. Besides, I had no plans of going back home.
Last night, Dad was furious because I didn’t come home.
Can you blame me? I couldn’t bear to go home to a murderer. I didn’t want to sleep in a house with the man who killed Anthony.
“Oh! What the heck! That’s not it! The code is not running!”
I jolted in surprise and looked at the one who shouted. It was my classmate, a girl, who was frowning at her laptop.
I looked at my own code. I bit my lower lip and sighed deeply. My code’s syntax was wrong. I frowned and reopened the Java template.
When I looked back at my classmates, they were already packing up their things. It seemed like they were done coding too.
I quickly packed my belongings. I needed to go to the Admin office because the police wanted to ask me something. I didn’t call Dad because he might drag me back home.
“See you tomorrow!” my classmates bid farewell.
I just waved at them and walked towards the Admin Office. I stood outside the door and took a deep breath before knocking.
I waited for a few minutes before someone opened the door. Professor smiled upon seeing me. “Come in, Miss Azora.”
I walked in, my heart pounding. I didn’t know why my muscles felt cold even though the police were just going to ask questions. Maybe because I knew what happened?
I saw two police officers in front of the Campus Director’s desk. Jenica was also there, her eyes were swollen. She glanced at me before turning away. Professor gestured for me to sit opposite the two police officers.
“Miss Azora Sirai Briones?” one of them asked.
I swallowed. “Yes?”
“We just have a few questions, Miss Briones. The first person who found the body, Miss Jenica Helvez, said you were a friend of Mister Anthony Clasiso.”
I clenched my fists as my hands began to tremble. I didn’t know if it was because of the air conditioning or just I am nervous. “Anthony and I only talked occasionally.”
“Occasionally?” Jenica’s face twisted. “You two practically eat together at the canteen every day. Is that what you call ‘occasionally’?”
I glared at Jenica. “I’m not a murderer! I didn’t kill Anthony!”
“I’m not accusing you of anything!” Jenica shouted back, tears streaking down her cheeks which she quickly wiped away. “I just want to know how Anthony ended up like that. So tell them the truth!”
“I didn’t kill him!” I shouted.
“Miss Briones, please calm down,” the Campus Director interjected. “No one is accusing you of murder. Just tell them whether you’re Anthony’s friend or not.”
I hugged myself. Even if I denied being his friend, no one would believe me because everyone knew Anthony and I ate together. It would only make matters worse if I didn’t cooperate with them.
But should I tell them what I know? Should I say that Dad killed Anthony?
“Miss Azora,” one of the police officers called to me.
I sat up straight and nodded. “I’m friends with A-Anthony.”
“That’s what I want to hear,” Jenica whispered.
The police officer nodded and made a note. “Did you eat together at the canteen?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Did he ever mention having a conflict with someone in class or anywhere else?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Did he ever talk to you about any problems? Or is he currently facing any issues?”
I pondered the second officer’s question. Did Anthony have any problems? I remembered our conversation at the canteen the other day. “He told me that he’s tired from pressure both at school and at home. Maybe a family problem perhaps…”
The two police officers fell silent, quickly jotting down notes on their small notepad. Jenica started crying. I wondered about her behavior but didn’t ask.
After a few seconds, the second police officer looked up. “Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Azora.”
I blinked and swallowed. “Do you have a suspect? I mean, do you have any leads on who killed him?”
The two police officers exchanged looks. The first one who spoke earlier smiled. “We don’t need a suspect, Miss Azora. This is a suicide case.”
“A s-suicide case?”
The police officer nodded. “A suicide note was found next to Mr. Anthony’s body. It’s a significant piece of evidence indicating that the victim took his own life. The case will be closed, especially with your testimony confirming that the victim had problems before he committed suicide.”