Ghost In Red

---    

"Really? Do you know who they are?" Syd curiously asked me, and I nodded my head in response.    

"Yeah, I told you that already. I just thought you would want to know. I know you want to know, Syd." I answered and saw a half-smile form on her soft pink lips.    

"Mmm, cool. I do want to know. No, I want to confirm it... From you... From what you knew about that person." She said, which kind of made me puzzled for a sec, and she licked her lips and continued, "Truth be told, Oj, my friends and I, mainly, just them, had made an investigation. Well, with the aim of wanting my name clean when you finally get back. We actually had one person in mind."    

"Okay. Who is it?" I asked her, interested to hear if we have the same culprit.    

She leaned closer to me like she was going to whisper, and she did whisper as she explained, "The recent happenings in the PWA have made it more apparent that it was her. Your ex has secretly been dating one of your girl friends right after just a few weeks after you got into that road accident. And they are out just recently. It was Vidia's boy, Donovan, who sent us videos and pics of them at different places during weekends before. That Wright girl. It was her, wasn't she? Or I might be wrong."    

I only nodded my head as she got it right. It was indeed Pauline Wright.    

"Yeah. It's her. And I suppose we aren't going to be friends anymore. You know, I can't be friends with snakes. And I'd rather be with my enemy from day one than with someone who pretends to be my friend yet wants me broke in the end. Grace found it all out in Daisy's computer—the edited pictures. And it was Daisy who edited them for Pauline. I was there in this form... when my girls broke up. Grace went wild, and the rest of them just didn't... I don't know... They just accepted that it's all over for us. I really don't know what will happen when I come back. And... I'm so sorry, Syd, if you got into that kind of a mess." I confirmed and sighed deeply, remembering all the things I had done for them, the time we spent, and the trust I gave them that they don't give a sh*t about. All those things were gone just for a bastard. Pathetic.    

"Hey, it's alright, Oj. I'm sorry if that happened to you and them. Don't worry. I'll deal with them when we get back from our mission. I'll make them pay for what they did to you. They should kneel and even kiss the floor, apologizing to you. Huh! They wouldn't want to discover my angry side. They'll see." Sydney reassured me and cracked her left knuckles, making me chuckle softly, seeing how serious and sweet my girlfriend is.    

"What? What's funny?" She asked me, and I cleared my throat while shaking my head.    

"Nothing. I just... You are certainly and undoubtedly my knight in sparkling armor, Sydney Roswell. The one who was supposed to disagree and quarrel with me is the one who will save and protect me. Very romantic, Syd. Truly. Thank you. You are so sweet. And it's a part of you that I never thought I'd witness. Hmm, a sweet cold person. An ice cream. Oh, I love it!" I enthusiastically replied with a bright smile, and she just scoffed and rolled her eyes in response. Then she focused her attention looking at the window, but I could see her cheeks were flushing. See? She's so cute!    

"Whatever. It's your fault in the first place why you acquainted yourself with those kinds of people. You trust so quickly and don't see red flags instantly." She berated me without looking at me, and I gasped at her choice of words. Seriously?    

"Excuse me? So, you are saying that it's my fault? Really?" I asked in disbelief, and she nodded and looked me in the eyes.    

"You heard me." She affirmed while her face shows that usual big B energy she wears whenever we clash before.    

Why is she so mean to me now?    

"Okay. Is this because I called you an ice cream? Fine, you're not. You are hot... A hot bittersweet black coffee. Or no... Here, I have one. You are a chocolate-filled cookie. Hard on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside. A perfect complement to a hot coffee." I explained and noticed that a soft laugh escaped her mouth, and she shook her head while looking like she was not impressed. She is super impressed.    

"You are just hungry, Oj. I know it's been a while since the last time you had taken something inside your digestive system. But if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to ask for some food from any flight attendant. Do you want anything?" She remarked and asked me with a smile, and I couldn't be happier to hear her ask me for the food I wanted.    

"Ice cream. I want one. In any flavor you like. You'd be the one who'll eat it for me, anyway." I answered, and she looked at me for a moment and agreed.    

After she called a lovely flight attendant and ordered, we waited for a few minutes for the food.    

---    

"Syd, can you do me a favor?" I asked her after she yawned, and she tried to stretch her arms forward and looked my way.    

"Yeah, sure, anything. What is it?" She replied and clasped her hands on the tabletop to listen carefully.    

It's been almost two hours of us flying, and I know that she feels so sleepy. Even whenever I board our family jet, I always want to sleep as it's like rocking you to sleep. And it's so boring. Unlike a standard flight, where kids are crying, passengers arguing with one another, or people complaining to the cabin crew.    

"Umm... You might need to get your notebook and pencil for this one." I told her, and she took her precious things from the empty space beside her. She looked at me and motioned me to continue.    

"Can you write down my... The things I want to do by the time I get back on my feet?" I asked her, and she lifted her gaze to me and smirked.    

"A bucket list? Yeah, sure! Name it." She agreed and began jotting down the phrase 'OJ's Bucket List' on the topmost part of the page.    

"Umm, well... I actually have an original list in my head, yet some of them are already fulfilled. Do you still think you should write them down, too?" I said and smiled as I kept looking at her, thinking that she was on my list that was already fulfilled.    

"Yeah, let's add them. Tell me." She replied, and I cleared my throat before I spoke. I just don't know how she would react, but I'm going to take this shot.    

"Okay. Umm. The first one is... I want to find out if my greatest foe, which was you, is gay. And that's... A check. Next is... I want to find out if she has a crush on me. A check on that also. And... What? Write it down." I started and stopped when she just stared at me like I was wearing some funny bunny ears, and I think she's not taking it seriously.    

"I mean it, Syd. It really was on my bucket list. So, please write it down. I still have some more to add on it." I ordered and heard her let out a sigh and shake her head lightly, and she finally jotted it down on the paper.    

"Next on that is... Try making friends with her. You, I mean. And... I don't think there would be a check on that. We aren't friends. We are more than friends! Oh, no. Put down... Make her my girlfriend. Then put a check on it." I continued and joyfully clapped my hands as I had thought of the perfect phrase, and the blondie looked at me again, but this time, her eyebrows were meeting each other in unrest.    

"Sydney, I'm serious. Come on. Just write them down. Next on that is... Oh, I'm getting myself a dog. No check yet, because I will get one once I finally feel better. And I am going to name him... Oh, you have Kitty, then he will be Mickey. Hehe, isn't it nice?" I told her and saw she continued writing, and I thought of other things I would like her to write down.    

After writing about eight more things, we stopped, and she signed at the bottom of the page as the witness.    

Well, some on the list actually involve my girlfriend, my stepmom, my real mom, the rest of my family, my friends and ex-friends, and a few of them for myself.    

---    

When we had finally landed, we got on a cab heading to the place, where Syd researched on the city map that we could stay for the meantime. It's a travelers' inn.    

"Hey, Syd! Only one bed? We are going to share a bed?" I asked, quite surprised, as she opened the door of the room.    

The girl looked at me while wearing a duh look on her face, and she replied, "Look who's complaining about sharing a bed? You even creep on my bed and steal whatever you have stolen while I was asleep."    

I was about to react, but she was right, so I just shrugged my shoulders. I'm not complaining. I just thought she wouldn't want me near her at times where she is all vulnerable and pretty. I mean... No, I don't mean anything naughty. I just... I want to be... Never mind.    

"We will stay here just for tonight. And tomorrow, if we could get into the university and ask for your mom's house address, we would go and find her." She explained, and I nodded my head in response as I walked to the bed and sat there on the edge.    

"Okay, great plan. So... You are going out for dinner?" I asked her, and she sat on my left and went to lie on her back.    

"No. Later. I'll take a rest for a moment. My head is going so sh*tty. But if you want to explore the place, you can. Just make sure to get back here." She answered and closed her eyes, and I sat down in the middle of the bed, and I faced her.    

There was silence, but I guess she wasn't sleeping yet.    

I looked at her face closely, and my eyes locked on her lips when she moistened them with her tongue. It looks so inviting, and I can't help but stare.    

"Syd, who was your first kiss?" I curiously asked her, thinking that that person was so damn lucky to have tasted those luscious pink lips of hers.    

She opened her eyes and looked at me while her left eyebrow raised.    

"My mom, probably." She answered, and it was not the answer I wanted to hear.    

"No. Not a family member. Someone... Someone else. No one yet?" I said and grew more curious when she chuckled and said, "There is one."    

I gave her a look that seemed to tell her to go on, as I badly wanted to know. It's not like she dated someone before, but I just want to know who is the lucky one.    

"You know her." She began and sat up on the bed.    

I made a thoughtful face, trying to think hard of who it might be that I knew.    

"It's a girl? Wow! Who is it?" I asked, kind of not expecting it to be a girl, and she smirked.