MAGGIE watched Dustin as he talked curtly to the school nurse. He nodded at every advice she gave and said thanks after giving him the prescription to help lessen his back pain. This is the first time that Maggie saw Dustin interacted with people other than those that surrounded him, and she can say that the man wasn’t the person she thought he was.

Dustin was instead a calmed and reserved man but with a soft heart. When he looked at her, Maggie blushed and looked away from him. She silently scolded herself for being vulnerable in times like this.

“Maggie,” Dustin called her.

She sauntered towards the clinic bed, and awkwardly looked at him. “Y-yes, Dustin?”

“Are you sure you’re okay? Did those students hurt you?” he asked worriedly.

Maggie felt something ticklish inside her chest. “I should be the one asking you that question…” she said shyly. “I’m okay. And, the nurse gave me a spare uniform to change.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said and let out a sigh. “I have reported them also, and the disciplinary office will take action as soon as possible. But I’m sure they will call you too to defend yourself.”

Maggie lowered her head and clutched to the hemline of her uniform. “I-I don’t know what am I going to tell them…”

“Don’t you remember what happened in the canteen?” he asked with furrowed brows. Maggie doesn’t know why he’s asking her this question.

“Dustin, I don’t know what happened…” she said hesitantly. “What I only remember is when you talked to me inside the classroom… Then, I suddenly found myself in the middle of the canteen, with wet uniform, and everything was in chaos.” She caught her head. “I don’t really understand what’s happening to me. Just like what happened yesterday…”

“Maggie, like I told you earlier, it wasn’t you,” Dustin whispered. 

He jumped down the high bed and checked if there were others in the clinic aside from him and her. When he saw that the nurse was busy on the computer monitor, he pulled the curtain around them. Maggie held her breath when he stepped near her as he reached the curtain. Her heartbeat was going wild with their close distance.

“I-It wasn’t me?” she repeated to clear the awkwardness that she suddenly felt in front of him. “What do you mean that it wasn’t me?”

Dustin lowered his head and met her gaze. Maggie looked away. She couldn’t take to meet his eyes at this close distance. She felt as if her heart will jump out of her ribcage.

“Maggie, looked at me,” Dustin told her in a commanding voice that sent a shiver along her spine. “You have to look at me because what I’m going to tell you is important.”

Maggie slowly looked up at him. Dustin is a foot taller than her, so she has to look up to meet his eyes. “W-what do you want to tell me, Dustin?”

Her clutch on her skirt tightened as Dustin heaved a sigh. He looked as if he’s going to confess his feelings to her. “Maggie, I think… I think you have an alter persona.”

“A-Alter persona?” she repeated in furrowed brows. “You mean… Splitting personalities?”

Dustin nodded. “That’s just my observation. I am not a professional psychologist, but it explained everything that happened yesterday and today. It explained the sudden changes in your personality, the rise and low of your character…” He held her shoulders. “And, I witnessed it, Maggie. I witnessed how you switched from Maggie to Maxine.”

Maggie’s eyes widened in shock. Alter persona? I have an alter persona? She recalled some of the things that she doesn’t know when and how it happened. Like the freedom quotes written in her notebook, the evidence video in which she stabbed the man in the bus, and the commotion in the canteen that Rose said she did.

“It means… the terrible things that happened to me since yesterday that I couldn’t remember was done by my alter persona?” she asked, still shocked by what Dustin told her. “H-how… Why?”

“The only way to confirm that you really have a personality disorder is to seek professional consultation,” Dustin suggested.

Maggie thought about Dr. Jacob. “I know a professional that could help us. My uncle is a psychologist,” she said, but then thought about her mother. “But, mommy doesn’t want me to talk to him alone.”

“Why? He can help us to identify your case,” Dustin said. “Especially now that Maxine seemed uncontrollable whenever she’s taking over you.” She paused. “And, Maggie, I think Maxine has a memory with your previous actions, unlike with you that you don’t remember anything that she did.”

Maggie’s brows furrowed. “With every shocking thing that happened to me in a short time, it’s enough to say that she’s… she’s dangerous.”

“For now, I have to know what triggers your switches. What things and events that awaken Maxine so that when it happened, I will never leave your side to make sure that she’s not gonna do anything that will put you in trouble afterward.”

“Y-you’re going to do that, D-Dustin?” she asked, overwhelmed with the effort and attention he’s giving her. “I don’t want to be a nuisance to you, and besides, I am not your friend or even your classmate to do that—”

“Who says that you are not my friend?” he asked and smiled. “After I blocked the chair for you, this is what I’m going to get in return?”

Maggie blushed. “N-no, it’s not what I mean, Dustin… I’m thankful for what you did. You saved me—”

“It’s just a bit disappointing that you don’t remember what your alter persona did to me a while ago,” he said with a sigh. “But I think you shouldn’t know it.”

“W-what do you mean? What did I do to you? Did I hurt you?” Maggie asked him worriedly. She caught her forehead. “I’m sorry, Dustin.”

Dustin chuckled. “It’s okay, Maggie.” He tapped her shoulder. “Now, we have to talk about what you’re going to tell the disciplinarian in the meeting. I’m sure any moment from now we will be called to proceed to the office and explained.”

“There are CCTV’s around, right? I want to see it,” she said, getting curious about her alter persona. 

It’s scary and shocking about what Maggie found out in herself. Still, somehow, it brought her some good news: Dustin getting close to her and bullies getting away from her.

***