Jewel's brows met. Jasmine sounded desperate. What if Gabbi was just a victim of a set-up and was just framed? What if Jasmine just fabricated the story? Gabbi still didn't speak so there's probably a reason why Jasmine was so desperate to make her believe her words.
"And you expect me to believe your accusation, Jasmine?" Her eyes narrowed.
Jasmine swallowed hard and shifted her gaze from her and to her parents. "Y-Yes! Haven't you severed your relationship? She's no longer your friend! One more thing, we're classmates since grade eleven so you know if I'm telling the truth!"
She laughed wryly. "We're only classmates, not bestfriends. How will I know if you're telling the truth?"
Jasmine's body stiffened. "J-Jewel Laine ..."
She folded her arms and glanced at Gabbi. Still the girl's not saying a thing so there must be something wrong here. "How did you meet Gabbi?"
Jasmine swallowed the lump in her throat, trying her best to calm her breathing. "He's my grade school classmate. I know his older brother as an internet hacker. T-Then ... I paid him to do that." Jasmine looked down. "Again, I'm sorry, Laine. Umm, I was just emotional. I have a crush on Joseph." Jasmine's cheek blushed so she turned her face to the side. "A-And he's always talking about you so I can't stand it anymore. I spread what I learned from Gabbi."
Crap. Accusation again. She sighed. "Information from Gabbi? Why? You're her friend so she told you about my secret?"
Jasmine nodded slowly. "We're not really good friends. Just casual." Then she breathe deeply. "I saw you and Gabbi, with the two other girls one night. You sneaked into the boy's Dormitory then came back to Girl's Dormitory with laughing gestures. Then I concluded that they are your friends because you don't laugh and smile like that when we are with you who are your blockmates " She averted her gaze again. "So I approached Gabbi and asked about your secrets, in exchange for my silence about what you did that night. And because Gabbi didn't want to have an issue so she told your secrets that she knew."
"Why do you keep on accussing Gabbi?" she asked annoyed.
"Because that's the truth, Jewel Laine! Yes, I just love Joseph so I did it, to ruin you and let him know you can't be his girlfriend anymore!" Jasmine bit her lip. "But ask your Gabbi! Ask her what are her motives why she worked with me, if she's your friend!"
Jewel blinked and looked at Gabbi's behavior. The girl was still bowing her head so she couldn’t see what her reaction was. She sighed. "What are these accusations, Gab?" she asked.
But Gabbi remained tight and unmoved. She gasped when her father suddenly hit the table next to Gabbi. "Answer Jewel's question! If you don't want to talk, I'll throw you in jail!"
"Mister Mangubat," the Director begged. "Please understand my student. She doesn't have a guardian here so it's heavier and harder for her to talk about all the accusations about her. Please be gentle with her, Mister Mangubat."
"Sir," Gabbi replied. Jewel looked at her former friend. Gabbi's fist was still clenched and her head was still hanging low. "I did all that. Jasmine's accusation is true."
"See? I told you!" Jasmine's hysteria. The Guidance Counselor immediately silenced her.
Gabbi looked up. Her eyes were red from holding back the tears. Their gazes met and Jewel went stiff. Gabbi smiled bitterly. "I did all that to protect my name and I like to tarnish Jewel's name."
She was stunned. "W-What?"
"That! Your true color has come out! You're a bad child! It's true that bad parents raised you!" her mother yelled.
Gabbi moaned and averted her eyes from Jewel. "You have no right to judge my parents. Even if you are rich you still have no right!"
"No respect to the elderly!" her father scolded, yelling.
Jasmine gasped at the scream and she covered her ears. Jewel held her father's arm to calm him down. "Pa," she called.
Gabbi's shoulders went up and down. Looking down on the floor, she continued. "You have everything I dreamed of, Jewel." Gabbi nodded and laughed. "You already have it all, e. So I can't understand why you're still looking for comfort. If you hadn't just been so selfish, you wouldn't have experienced what's happening now."
"W-What do you mean, Gab?"
Gabbi's tears flowed. "I'm not rich, Jewel. My parents died leaving only a house and debts. My older brother took care of all my needs." She sniffed and wiped the tear from her cheek. "I walked to the University every day during our Senior High because I only received an allowance from Kuya once in a while. Almost all of his money was spent on tuition and debt repayment. We had nothing, Jewel. But I put up with all that! I dressed well and studied well so that I could get a position as a scholar of the town. With this, Kuya will no longer have to struggle to work at this University!"
Gabbi looked sharply at the Director. "Because of the contract he signed when he worked here, I can't transfer to the state University. This University is so greedy for money that I promised myself one day I will enter the school records to stop your University from extorting money from us! But Kuya is very smart. He stopped me! I almost got the evidence when he stopped me!"
"Miss Caliwag!" Director warned. "You really should be jailed for what you did!"
"Yes!" Gabbi stood up. "I know I'm going to be imprisoned! Because you're really going to imprison me, guilty or not! You're going to put me in jail in exchange for Kuya!" Gabbi laughed as tears poured down her cheeks. "I'm the one you're going to throw away because you can't lock up Kuya's corpse! It's worthless!"
Jewel's heart stopped beating at Gabbi's words. Her older brother is dead? But how? When? Gabbi didn't tell ---
"And you!" Gabbi pointed a finger at Jewel. "You have a lot of secrets I know, Laine."
"W-What are you talking about?"
"Are you still denying it?" Gabbi laughed again. Annoyed, she pulled herself together. "You thought I wouldn't know what your secret was?" Gabbi snatched her phone from her pocket, and showed something to him.
Jewel's brow met when she saw pure darkness, then the video suddenly lighted up. Her eyes widened when she saw herself and Joseph kissing. Later, Joseph gradually undressed her. That’s where the video was cut off.
"Because of this video that's why Jasmine is detemined to ruin you." Gabbi smiled. "But do you know where it came from? Hehe. From Hazel's phone."
The whole room was so quiet that she could almost hear her own breathing. She froze in her seat. Jewel didn’t want to look at her parents sitting on either side of her because she was afraid to see their reacrion upon seeing the video.
Jewel swallowed the lump in her throat. "T-That's not me," she denied.
"Really, Jewel?" Gabbi laughed. "Why don't you ask Hazel if it's true or not? If my future is ruined, I'll ruin yours too." Gabbi grinned again. "We're friends, aren't we? If I get hurt, you should sympathize too! I'm not the only one who should be responsible now! You, him, them, all of us should be sympathetic. That's our promise to one another so grab your end of the rope! "
She stood up and slapped Gabbi. The girl's face turned to the side. "How dare you," she said with gritted teeth. "You call us friends? You can ruin your friend, Gabbi! You're not a good friend!"
"Why?" Gabbi burst out laughing. "Did I say I'm a good friend, Jewel? You too, huh? Are you a good friend? Eh, you don't care about the people around you! You only think of yourself!"
"Shut up!" she shouted.
"It's true! You're only thinking about yourself! You claimed a scholarship even though you know your family doesn't have a problem with money! You didn't consider that someone might need your place on the Municipal Scholars list more than you! You didn't even think about other people's feelings! Your only concern is yourself!" Gabbi stared at her sharply. "Of the four of us, only Hazel became my friend. Remember that!"
Jewel took a deep breath. "Likewise. I didn't consider you as a friend either!"
Gabbi sat down and hung her head low again. Jewel slowly sat too in her chair and averted her gaze. Her father suddenly said, "Hubes, I want to make sure. Call that Hazel."
"Pa." Her eyes widened. Hazel couldn't possibly betray her like Tiara and Gabbi. She shook her head. "It's not necessary ---"
"I want to make sure that what's in the video is not true. Hazel as well as that guy in the video, I want them here, Hubes."
Jewel held her breathe.