THREAD FOURTEEN: FORENSIC SKETCH ARTIST

“MER! Mer, what’s going on? Are you okay?” Joebeth asked in a panic mode when she noticed that Meredith was trembling with fear while her hands were covering both of her ears.
John Person came over right away. “Mer?! W-what’s going on?” he asked worriedly.
Joebeth shook her head. “I-I don’t know! She suddenly became like that after the loud sound.”
“Mer, hang-on!” Randall interrupted who was now close to Meredith.
“Robi, get my bag, hurry! Hurry up!” he begged, which his friend immediately followed.
“Mr. Dacles, what the hell are you doing?!” John Person asked with a mixture of worry and anger after Randall put the earphone in Meredith’s ears.
Maybe he thinks what he is doing is crazy.
“Mr. Dacles, I’m warning you! If something bad happ—”
“Captain, I know exactly what I’m doing!” he interrupted.
“But—”
“Everything is fine now. She’s just having a panic attack, but she will get over it soon,” he answered.
John Person frowned. “W-what do you mean?”
“Y-you mean, you don’t know anything about her phobia, Captain?” he asked back.
He shook his head. “What phobia?”
“Meredith suffers from Phonophobia. She has panic attacks when she hears sudden explosions.”
“So, that’s the reason why you gave her your earphone?”
He nodded. “Classical music makes her calm.”
“Move away a little, guys!” John Person ordered everyone who was just staring and confused about what was happening.
“She needs to get some air,” he added, which they immediately followed when they found out the reason.
“Hey. . . Are you okay? How are you feeling?” Randall asked when Meredith calmed down.
She nodded and was supported by him to stand up.
“Can you walk?” She shook her head.
He was about to carry her when John Person intervened. “What are you trying to do?” 
“She needs to rest, Captain.”
“Then let allow me to do the honor,” John Person said as he carried her to their tent. 
The Cooking Club had brought a big tent that could fit six people, so it was not difficult for him to carry her inside. 
“How was she, Captain?” Randall asked John Person after he came out of the tent.
He gave back his iPod. “She dozed off.” 
He let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear.”
Fortunately, he was there when her phobia occured.
“Well, thanks to you, by the way. If it wasn’t because of you, I don’t know what would have happened to her. Aunt Edith didn’t mention anything about her phobia.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Captain. I just did what I knew would help her.”
“When did you find out about her phobia?”
“That happened when we were both trapped in the meeting room.”
His Captain looked at him in shock. “Does that mean he was also attacked that day?”
He nodded. “Yes! Due to strong thunder and lightning. I didn’t know what to do at first. She was looking for an iPod because both of our phones were out of battery. It’s a good thing that I brought my iPod, which is fully charged.” And he told everything that Meredith told him before.
John Person put his arm around him smiling. “Now I’m sure he’ll be safe when she’s with you.”
He just smiled at him then bid their goodbyes to each other because it was already late at night.
Randall remembered what his grandfather wanted to happen to him and Meredith when he was alone. A part of him likes his grandfather's idea because he feels something when he sees or approaches her. But when she refused, the blurred face of the woman from his dream appeared in his mind for no apparent reason and abruptly disagreed with what his grandfather desired. The man in her dream had a clear face, but he had never met him in person, not even the woman.
There’s really something in her he couldn’t name. All he knows is that he’s happy when he saw her happy and also hurts when he saw her sad. There were so many questions in his mind that he still couldn’t find the answers.

“GOOD MORNING, sunshine!” Carlota greeted Meredith as soon as she realized she was awake.
She closed her eyes when the sun’s rays entered their tent.
“How was your sleep, little princess?” Joebeth teased, who was currently folding her sleeping mat.
She got up and stretched. “How come you packed your belongings so early?” she asked and yawned.
“What early are you saying? Our call time is ten o’clock and it’s already nine o’clock. So you’d better get moving!”
She abruptly packed her things and took care of herself. When they were finished, they gathered at the entrance to await their bus service.
“Pres, w-what is this?!” she asked in surprise after seeing the video posted in BSU secret files on E-Face. It’s her and Randall.
Randall was hugging her. It’s the scene when her phobia is triggered. It seemed that her memory of what happened last night came back.
“I’m really sorry, Mer. Even if I delete the video, the tentacles of gossip spread so fast. I was live last night when you’re phobia triggered. I forgot to stop the live because everyone was panicking. I didn’t expect it would spread across campus right away.
She sighed, convinced. If she had intended to film the whole scene, the video would not have been shaky.
Joebeth put her arms around her. “Do you know that you are like a princess who is being fought over by two princes?”
She blushed when she realized what she was saying.
“And did you know that your haters almost increased because of Captain? You might mob when you return to University if they don’t find out he’s your cousin.”
“And Randall’s fans fell in love with him even more because of what he did to you. According to the source, many people are jealous of you. And some of them are shipping you,” Carlota added.
Her attention was drawn back to her E-Face account when her phone nearly shut down due to the influx of friend requests and private messages. Because of the tone of her E-Messenger, it drew the attention of her companions.
“See? I told you!” Joebeth said when she looked at it.
Her eyes searched for Randall because she wanted to know his reaction to the leaked video but he didn’t see him.
It was around six o’clock in the evening when Meredith finally got home. She and her mother just talked a little at dinner before she decided to rest. She was about to fall asleep when her cousin sent her an E-Messenger message.
Her eyes widened when he sent a picture of her and Randall on the rock where she was taking a picture of him. 
Her cousin typed. “Should I send it to him?” 
Her eyes widened. 
In her panic, she got up from the bed and dialled his number.
“Hey! Don’t you dare, cousin!” she said when he picked up the phone.
“Why?” he said innocently while his silly smile was still plastered on his face.
Her face flushed with embarrassment. “Just don’t send it to him!”
“Don’t you like it? I’m doing you a favor.”
She frowned. “What favor are you talking about?”
“Are you still going to deny it?”
She pressed her lips together. “Oh, please! I don’t know what you're talking about!”
“You like him, Mer!”
She blushed. “N-no way!”
“Are you for real? I already sent to you my proof!” 
“Ugh! Just delete it, okay?!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle that for you!” he continued when she was speechless and hung up the phone.
She quickly looked at the message he sent to her for the last time and buried her face in her pillow.

MONDAY came, and almost every student she encountered smiled and greeted her. She doesn’t want to be rude to them, so she just nods at them, despite the fact that she has no idea what’s going on around her. Her friends approached her as soon as she walked into their room.
“Mer!” Marylex smiled and squeezed her cheek.
”Aw, Lex! That hurts!” She whimpered as she massaged her face.
Shanaia encircled her with her arms. “How does it feel to be famous, huh?” 
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied.
Marylex fanning herself with her right hand. “Gosh! Until now, I can’t believe that the two prince charmings from Swimming Club saved you from your phobia.”
She shook her head when she heard that. “Guys! Wake up! I almost died of fear, yet, you still manage to give malice to my cousin and Randall’s action for helping me?”
“You can’t blame us! If everyone didn’t know that Captain JP was your cousin, we would really think that you are in a love triangle.”
“Randall just happened to know what to do at that time, so stop teasing me. And my cousin was just being overprotective, okay?”
“Still,  I will ship you and Randall,” Marylex said.
She looked behind her to see if Randall was there, but he wasn’t. She was just curious how he would react to the gossip.
“Hey. . . Searching for Randall?” Marylex sneered.
“No, I’m not! Besides, I already told you that I have someone that I’m looking for, didn’t I?”
“Are you really looking for that blurry man?” Shanaia intervened.
She stopped. How can she find that guy if she has no basis? She only recognized the woman’s face.
“Maybe that person hasn’t been born yet. What if, you’re too old, while he was just learning to walk?” Shanaia said, which silenced her.
“Wait! Didn’t you say that you only remember the woman’s face in your dream?" She nodded in response to Marylex question.
“In that case, we can also see her face if we go to a forensic sketch artists. It will make it easier for us to find her also.”
Marylex was right. They can easily find the man in her dream if the three of them will work together.
“Do you know anyone?” she asked.
Shanaia reacted. “I knew someone! Let’s go there after class! What do you think, girls?”
“I want to come along!” Marylex agreed, who was even more excited than she was. 
Meredith can only hope that everything goes well.