21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKOs1V60Cl
They weren’t friends.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccddbHd4Hw
They weren’t enemies.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8RdmYz6xr
They were something worse—two girls who understood each other too well.
The school trip was supposed to be uneventful.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtV5CHJchh5
A three-day leadership retreat in Tagaytay.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TROJuDFYb
Team-building games. Campfire circles. Trust falls.
Ruthie didn’t trust anyone enough to fall.
And Marian?
She liked watching people drop.
By the second night, everyone was exhausted.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFe8uvbPULu
The sky threatened rain.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xGUupxc87
But the facilitators still insisted on outdoor reflections by the bonfire.
Ruthie sat on the edge of the group, hoodie pulled tight, headphones in.
She wasn’t listening to music.
She was listening for trouble.
And trouble always finds Marian.
It started when Marian wandered off after lights out.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeRFO4ydQo
No one noticed.
Except Ruthie.
She saw the flicker of a flashlight.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5klXAENNC
Saw Marian follow one of the male upperclassmen behind the mess hall.
And Ruthie’s gut screamed.
Something’s off.
She stood. Followed. Quiet as breath.
Turned the corner—and froze.
Marian’s back was against the wall.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2g2yRMtPx
The boy—Kiko, varsity swimmer, all charm and arrogance—had one hand beside her head. The other creeping up her thigh.
“Akala ko ba game ka, Marian?”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBYMyrj9Qw
“I just said—stop muna.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWs6b7JVX4
“Eh kanina, landi-landi mo.”
“Kiko,” she said, voice cracking. “I said no.”
He didn’t move.
Ruthie did.
“Bitawan mo siya.”
Kiko turned, startled. “Ano ka ba—”
He didn’t get to finish.
Ruthie grabbed a fallen broomstick and swung. Hard.
It cracked against his side. He doubled over, cursing.
Marian gasped.
“Umalis ka na,” Ruthie said.
And Kiko, stunned and humiliated, did.
For a moment, it was just them.
Two girls. One shaking. One still burning.
“You okay?” Ruthie asked, chest rising and falling.
Marian didn’t answer. Just looked at her with something unreadable.
Gratitude? Shame? Fury?
“You’re welcome,” Ruthie muttered, turning to go.
She thought it would end there.
But the fox always has another trick.
The next day, rumors spread fast.
“Narinig mo ba? Marian almost got attacked last night daw.”
“Who saved her?”
“Si Jay! Sabi nila, siya raw ‘yung dumating in time.”
Ruthie’s spoon froze mid-air.
Jay?
That’s not what happened.
She confronted Marian by the wash area.
“Really? Siya raw ang sumagip sa’yo?”
Marian turned slowly, lip gloss flawless, eyes smug.
“Bakit? Gusto mong ipagsigawan na ikaw ‘yung hero ko?”
“Hindi ako naghahanap ng credit. Gusto ko lang ng totoo.”
Marian leaned in, voice like poison in silk.
“Sometimes, truth ruins the story.”
Ruthie clenched her fists.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“You should’ve let him touch me,” Marian said softly. “Then maybe I’d owe you.”
Ruthie stared at her. “You do.”
“No. You chose to get involved. That’s on you.”
“He could’ve—”
“But he didn’t.”
Silence stretched between them like a blade.
Then Marian smiled sweetly.
“Besides, you said nothing. No one knows. That makes you just like me.”
And that was it.
Ruthie walked away.
Marian walked taller.
Back in her bunk, Ruthie wrote in her journal:
“I didn’t save her to be thanked.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlh4rjQniZ
I saved her because no one else would.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCuGm3g3TL
But I won’t forget this.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vtwCXtqcZ
The fox only looks cute until it draws blood.”
That night, Jay found her watching the stars alone.
“You okay?”
“Do I look okay?”
“You look like you want to burn the place down.”
Ruthie didn’t answer.
Jay sat beside her.
“They said I saved Marian last night.”
“You didn’t.”
“I know.”
“But you didn’t correct them.”
Jay looked away. Guilty.
“Didn’t want to make it worse for her.”
Ruthie let out a bitter laugh.
“You really believe she’s the victim?”
“I believe you care more than you admit.”
She didn’t deny it.
But caring doesn’t mean forgiving.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GRzpymF47
And silence isn’t the same as peace.
Later, when everyone else slept, Ruthie stared at Marian’s tent.
Inside it slept a girl with nine lives and no conscience.
And Ruthie?
She wasn’t done yet.
ns216.73.216.251da2“You owe me, fox.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbWEhw9EDr
You just don’t know it’s already collecting interest.
