33

“He’s becoming more restless, Khalil.”

Khalil knew that the counsellor’s invitation for dinner that night was with a hidden motive. He knew that she would talk about this.

“Then, what do you want me to do? That Jeremy kid isn’t cooperating!”

“Jeremy is not the only way to solve this…”

Khalil was silent. He could guess what the counsellor would suggest.

“Khalil, all this while, he thought that Jeremy is you…”

“So?”

“So now that you’re here, what use do we have for Jeremy?”

Khalil pretended to be busy sipping on his cup of coffee, even though there’s only 1/3 of coffee left in it and he usually drinks only 2/3 of his water. But because of this weird atmosphere, Khalil had to sacrifice his trademark habit.

“I know it’s hard, Khalil. But don’t tell me you’re going to leave him like that, restless?”

Emotional blackmail. Damn it.

“I’m already old. It can’t be that he won’t notice it,” Khalil tried making an excuse.

“If he can see Jeremy as you, then what’s the problem with you who is merely 10 years older?” Demmit!

“So, what should I do? Living in a room with him is one thing. But I can’t just go to the academic block, staying in the class with the students just for the sake of being in character? Acting has a limit too you know?” complained Khalil. He rarely complained like that.

“There’s probably no need to stay in the class. But if needed, you can just say it’s a part of your research for a new work,” suggested the counsellor.

Why is she so smart? Her smartness is at the point of being annoying.

“Are you planning on an ambush? How would you that intervention thing? I don’t want to waste my time with him if in the end, he would still be in denial.”

“That too… I might need your help with it.”

“I’m not even too supporting of this current plan.”

“Khalil… please?”

Khalil sighed. It sounded so heavy.

“I, of all people, know it’s hard. But you know we gotta do this,” persuaded the counsellor. She then added with a bitter smile, “And anyway, it’s not so bad. You get to spend your time with him.”

Khalil can’t help but return her smile. “It’s not him anymore, remember?”

“When you see it, you will feel that it’s really him.”

“If, like what Jeremy said, when he appears, he won’t look as handsome as he used to, then what?”

“Was he ever not handsome in your eyes?”

Khalil was silent. He was reminded of the time when he liked to steal glances at the person who stole his heart.

“No. Never. He’s always handsome.”

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“The counsellor told you to scratch your script>? Why?” asked Lina when going back to Jeremy’s room that evening.

“She said that brother Khalil wants to give me some input.”

“But you’ve already done a rehearsal!”

“It’s just an initial rehearsal. Using a different script is still fine,” Jeremy quickly answered.

Lina leered. “Eleh, you, for your brother Khalil, anything would do, right?”

“Eh, now way! That day, when he asked for that ridiculous thing, did I agree? No, right?”

Lina clammed up, thinking of the counsellor’s and brother Khalil’s weird request to Jeremy. “So the rumours about the counsellor were true, eh?”

“It’s not, dear. The rumours said that she a psycho. But she’s actually a psychic. That’s different,” said Jeremy softly. Lately, he had been used to calling Lina ‘dear’.  Perhaps ever since they started to cohabitate, it started feeling like they were a pair of husband and wife.

How so very great of me to have a husband who’s not even sure whether he’s gay or straight, complained Lina in her heart. But she can’t really complain much about it. If not for Jeremy, what would she even have in this school? In fact, it’s actually good for Jeremy to have confusion in his sexual orientation – that fact alone lessened Lina’s desire to pounce on him. The desire was there, just lesser.

“Doesn’t psychic mean that she can predict the future?”

Jeremy was silent. He must’ve mistaken it, Lina smiled teasingly. She loves teasing Jeremy, especially when it would make him feel annoyed. She’s not doing it because of resentment or anything, It’s just that Jeremy would sometimes act like he knows everything so seeing him making a mistake was really fun.

“There are many types of psychic. There are those that can predict the future, read people’s emotions, see ghosts,” Jeremy was still trying to look knowledgeable.

Lina didn’t reply. Let Jeremy win this time.

“So, have you meet brother Khalil for the script improvement?”

“This evening. Oh yeah, the counsellor asked for you to come too.”

“Me? For what?”

“If possible, I want Jeremy to move to your room.”

Lina and Jeremy’s mouth were opened wide after hearing the counsellor’s request.

“Why? Can’t you? You seem okay with living in Jeremy’s room,” asked the counsellor.

Jeremy looked at Lina, Lina looked at Jeremy. Jeremy was the one who spoke, “No. But… it’s weird… a counsellor telling us to cohabitate…”

“This is still CGTSS, right?” Khalil who was sitting quietly with a stack of paper in his hand suddenly sounded.

Jeremy nodded.

“If so, then what’s the big deal?” said Khalil, brief.

I hate brother Khalil. Why is he so cool?

“Jeremy, you yourself said that you don’t want to be involved in this… supernatural matter, right?” the counsellor again asked for a confirmation.

Again, Jeremy simply nodded.

“If so, it’s better if you stay in Lina’s room while I and Khalil… operate,” explain the counsellor.

Operate? That somehow sounded fishy…

“But things happen in my room too, miss?” asked Lina.

“I know. That’s why Jeremy has o be with you. It’s a part of our plan,” explain the counsellor vaguely.

“Why must I leave my room?” asked Jeremy.

“Because I’ll be living there,” said Khalil.

Jeremy looked at Khalil. “You’re living in my room?”

“You don’t want to pretend to be me, right? So I’ll have to disguise myself as myself,” replied Khalil. His sentence sounded casual but Jeremy could detect a trace of heaviness in the tone.

“I don’t understand…”

Before Jeremy even finished his sentence, Khalil passed him the papers he was reading to Jeremy. “Here, your new script. I made it. Hopefully you’ll understand after this.”

Jeremy’s hands felt like shaking when receiving a work of his idol! Jeremy stood up like he was in slow-motion… hoping to eternalise every second of that happy mome–

“Just take it!”

Brother Khalil… can you not make me angry even once?! Jeremy pulled a sour face while taking the papers from Khalil.

“You’re sulking,” commented Lina. She wanted to whisper to him but it accidentally came out clear.

“Don’t sulk. Is sulking synonymous with an artist? Out there, if you sulk too much, you won’t even be able to eat, you know? Stop it starting from now,” advised Khalil while lighting a cigarette.

The counsellor seemed like she wanted to protest Khalil from smoking but she quickly moved her attention to Jeremy.

“I ask, if possible… for you to stage this script. Can you, Jeremy?” requested the counsellor.

Jeremy looked at the script in his hand. “What’s so important for me to stage this script and not other scripts?” Even though my heart is already jumping excitedly to stage brother Khalil’s script! Yaahoo!

The counsellor looked at Khalil and Khalil nodded. “That script… is based on a true story. What truly happened in this school ten years ago.”

There were a few words which grabbed Jeremy’s attention when perusing the script – words that he felt weren’t logical if related to a true story. “Miss, you’re joking, right? We’ve never heard of this before,” commented Jeremy.

Lina discreetly took a look at the script. Her big eyes became wider after seeing the same words that Jeremy saw.

“It’s true that this matter isn’t widely-known. Many people were involved in keeping things under wrap so that the school’s reputation would be preserved,” explain the counsellor.

“But… this is a big thing! Don’t tell me the media didn’t…”

A small laugh escaped Khalil’s mouth before he interrupted. “Media. Do you thing the media holds any power here? The things you read in newspapers, the things you see on TV… you think everything is true? Media can be bought, kid. Welcome to the real world.”

“Even I know that,” replied Jeremy while leering. “But the Internet already existed ten years ago, yet not one thing is heard about this?”

Again, Khalil laughed. “You seriously don’t know how big of an influence the parents who send their kids here have. If even a bomb explosion which kills a whole class could be kept secret, what’s more something like this?”

“That’s illogical. The family of the dead; it can’t be that they’ll just stay silent?” it was Lina who spoke.

Khalil was silent. Smoke was exhaled out slowly. “Just read the script. You’ll understand why the deceased’s family didn’t say a thing.”

Not just Jeremy, even Lina felt the shivers thinking about it.

“When do you want me to move out?” asked Jeremy.

“As fast as possible?”

Jeremy nodded. “Tonight is fine too.”

“And Lina? If anything happens in your room, immediately tell me,” reminded the counsellor. Lina too nodded.

That night began Khalil’s life in the room which was once a heaven… and a prison for him.