Margin of Error

Chapter Twenty-Four

We were crammed inside Rena's living room on a lazy Sunday afternoon, snacks scattered across the coffee table, chips, instant ramen, iced coffee in mismatched mugs. Jin was slouched on the floor, controller in hand, while Jerm and Irish were in a heated debate over whether pineapple belongs on pizza.

I sat at the far end of the couch, scrolling aimlessly through my phone, barely following the noise around me.

"Uy," Yvonne suddenly called out, narrowing her eyes at me. "You've been quiet for days. Spill."

"Nothing," I said without looking up. "Just tired."

Angel snorted. "Tired, my ass. Alam naming may something."

Rena leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Deahyah, you're doing that thing again. Yung biglang nawawala sa sarili tapos nagkukulong sa kwarto."

I forced a smile. "It's nothing you guys should worry about."

"Is it about Bon Odori?" Jin asked, finally pausing her game. "Or... is it about her?"

The room went quiet.

Irish exchanged a glance with Yvonne. "Mira," she said softly.

I clenched my jaw. "It's not important."

"Not important?" Rena's voice rose slightly. "Dea, we were there. We saw what she did to you. Kung anong pinagdadaanan mo after. Months of therapy, remember? And now she just shows up and you expect us to believe it's nothing?"

Angel leaned back, shaking her head. "Honestly, I wanted to pour iced coffee on her face that day."

"I had a job to do," I muttered.

"That's not the point," Yvonne said, her tone gentler now. "The point is, you don't have to carry this alone. We're here. Always."

I looked around at them, six pairs of eyes, all familiar, all stubbornly refusing to let me disappear again.

"It's just..." I exhaled slowly. "Seeing her was like being dragged back underwater after finally learning how to breathe."

No one spoke for a moment, but Jin slid a pack of Pocky toward me, his version of comfort.

"You survived her once," Irish said quietly. "You'll survive her again. And this time, you have us."

I didn't answer, but for the first time since Bon Odori, I felt something loosen in my chest.

The campus was buzzing with the usual chaos of enrollment week, students lining up at different offices, clutching forms, and ranting about system glitches. I was with Rena, Yvonne, and Irish near the registrar, just double-checking our subjects.

Everything was fine until I heard that voice.

"Well, if it isn't the eco-warrior herself," Mira said with that half-smirk I'd learned to hate. She was leaning against a pillar, looking way too comfortable for someone I wished would vanish from the planet.

Rena stiffened beside me. "Ano na naman 'tong trip mo, Mira?"

"Oh, nothing," Mira replied innocently, but her tone dripped with poison. "Just wondering if Deahyah here still thinks she's the campus savior. Or maybe she's moved on to seducing professors now?"

Irish's eyes went wide. "Excuse me?"

Before I could even open my mouth, Yvonne stepped forward. "Watch your mouth, Mira. Wala ka na ngang credibility, nagsasabi ka pa ng kung anu-ano."