Someone I'm Not

12. Perfect Disguise

[Earlier]

If there is something that Eduardus remembers as a part of his job, that is to make sure that nothing terrible will happen to his client, including physically. And leaving his client Phoenix who is currently inside the body of  Soroya Greene, means that if something might happen to complicate things, it would hold back the mission, and he won't be able to get what he wanted from his 100th client.

That is why he decided to do something.

"Here we go." With enough focus, he was able to leap, and in just a second, he possessed the driver's body.

"Where to  miss?" He asks as Soroya bought it. Why not? He's in full disguise! And take note, he also did it for himself: to see Vianne by the door.

As soon as he drops Soroya off, he immediately separates himself from the body. The driver's eyes were wide open as he secretly watches his reaction.

"What the hell? How did I—" the driver looks around, more confused than ever?

"Tss, humans." He mumbles before rushing to catch Soroya. This time, he picks a new trick. As soon as they walk past a concrete wall, he quickly transforms himself into a human being. Like the others, he's wearing a scarf perfectly wrapped around his neck and a shoulder bag that completed his look. He wears a serious face as he looks for Soroya, too confident where she is. What can he say? He's like a walking GPS when it comes to everyone, especially to his client.

*Approaching the station, please stand away from the platform edge*

Eduardus lifts his attention to the speakers that have been hanged just above them. As soon as the train arrives, he didn't even sweat a single drop as he secretly transports himself inside, just behind the chair where he predicted his client would sit. And he wasn't disappointed.

The rest of the ride wasn't tiring for him. Maybe because he's not as regular as the others? He doesn't care a bit. All of his attention was focused on Soroya until the train stopped. It was already time for them to get out. He was about to decide and wake her up when she decided to go herself, startled about waking up too late. Eduardus rolls his eyes as he continues to pay attention to her. He can see the panic in her eyes for a second, and in a second, as the door opens, she hurries outside, not noticing her phone falling. But not on Eduardus's watch. And before her phone could even collide with the floor, he manipulated gravity, making it float, an inch away from the floor. He stands up and picks up the phone, and calls for her attention.

When he's done with the chitchat, he made himself disappear into thin air, about to teleport back when he was too surprised to find himself not in the place where he wanted him to be.

"Oh, great." He says he knows where he is precise, making him turn around to see Goddess Dyke confidently seated at her throne. He then bows his head as a sign of respect.

"Rise, Eduardus." She commands that made him stand back up as he didn't beat around the bush.

"The kid is making a step already, my Goddess, and I think—"

"That leaving him to do it alone is a good choice?" She asks as she stands up from her throne as Goddess Dyke makes her way into her shelf to pick a book. Eduardus's eyes follow as he continues with his explanation.

"As much as I wanted to go, his past self told him that it should be only them. And I don't have a choice but to agree with it rather than making it more difficult, now that he doesn't have all the time to go and visit The Phoenix from the past." He pauses as the Goddess opens the book before showing it to him.

"And how about her?" His eyes widen only to realize that the book she's holding wasn't actually a book of words.

It was the Book Of Pictures containing facts about clients. And this was Soroya's book of pictures. And he was staring at the one and only—

"What about the Greene's oldest sibling, Vianne Greene?"

Still, his eyes are wide open, and he lifts his gaze to meet Goddess Dyke's severe glare.

"Can you tell me what's going on?"

•••

[Back to Soroya and Phoenix]

She didn't much enjoy dinner as she thought she would be. The first second she feels excited to taste her ordered food, but seconds after, she wasn't finding the pleasure to enjoy savoring her food anymore.

She finished one burger to show at least that she's interested in completing her food, even if she's not any longer. The food she's staring at looks delicious that it starts to water inside her mouth again, but she doesn't want to stay there a little longer, now that Phoenix was almost getting done with his food.

She secretly slides the burger down into her bag as she sips the remaining of his milkshake. When she's done, she clears her throat that made Phoenix lookup. He then raises a brow as he sees that Soroya's already done with hers, not noticing a missing burger.

"You're done?" He asks that made her smile and nod at him.

"Yep!" She shortly replies as she places down her glass of milkshake, emptying it completely.

"But you never finish your food faster than me." He stated that make her smile.

"Of course. But maybe that's because we order the same heavy foods that made me eat them slower. But since you're eating w sets of meals, perhaps I should cope up since that salad looks like it's easy to finish." She smiles. At that moment, Phoenix didn't possess her, and he's feeling Soroya's soul controlling over her.

She waited for him to finish, and when he's done, they went straight to a location that she predicted to be the place she's going to stay in for the next two days. When the driver pulls off, a modern, neat yet simple building greets her eyes.

"Let's go inside?" He asks that made her nod as Phoenix tries to carry her bag when she politely refuses.

"I think I can carry it by myself. Thank you." She mumbles that made Phoenix blink before letting go of the handle. When they're inside, she was pleased to see how spacious the house could get despite the building looking like it's not. She follows him upstairs until they stop at the first door. She notices that there are three more doors that made her wonder what could be behind them.

"You'll sleep here until tomorrow. Don't ask any more questions because I'm a bit tired and want to sleep." He straightforwardly reminds her that it made her want to ask more, but she decided to keep her mouth shut.

"Okay." She says as Phoenix nods at her before turning his back on her. She sighs as she just wanted to say 'good night,' but she didn't. When Phoenix enters one room, she decided to enter the room as well.

The strong scent of men's perfume quickly erupts in her nose. It wasn't that bad, but she doesn't like the smell, probably just 30%. She then decided to place down her duffle bag as she makes herself fall into the soft bed. She inhales the same scent again as she recognizes it.

'It was Phoenix.' She mumbles to herself, not noticing herself drifting off to sleep.

When morning came, she was awakened by the mumbled noises from she doesn't know where it comes from. She reluctantly sits up as she rubs her sleepy eyes. When she can clearly see around her, she was then about to see every detail of the room. Blue curtains, blue walls, and too cleaned room.

'My favorite color!' And in a brush of wind, he feels like he's not inside Soroya's body. He feels like he's been alive again and that all of that has happened for the past few days are like just a fantasy.

He stands up as he let his eyes roam around the room, recalling everything that he has liked when he's still alive.

'Because when I died, I almost forgot the things that I've enjoyed doing and looking at before.' He mumbles to himself. He approaches the curtain as he slowly pulls back the curtain for him to see what's behind the transparent window. When he has provided enough space for him to see the outside, he inhales deeply as his eyes were in awe when his eyes landed on the sight before him.

"It's beautiful." He says as he remembers that he has never done this before. Usually, when he gets up from bed, his first attention would lie on the screen of his monitor. With this, he has then missed a hundred times to see the beautiful sight of the city from that window. The sun that has been trapped from the curtains then assess from the window, making him embrace the natural heat from the sun. He closes his eyes as he embraces heat, the body heat that he has never felt ever since he died because he had run cold already.

But then his serene moment was interrupted when he hears the noise again. This time, he is sure that it is coming from downstairs. 'Does Phoenix have someone downstairs?' He asks himself before letting go of the curtain and approaching the door when he comes past the full-length mirror. It made him stop for a brief moment as he slowly turns to see his reflection.

And there it was.

Short golden brown hair, sparking hazelnut eyes, naturally pinkish lips, and a proportional body figure. He almost had forgotten that he possesses a woman's body, and just by seeing his woman reflection in the mirror made him feel sad, pained, and mostly disappointed.

He was Soroya once again.

"Yeah, I know! He just came to my room while I was busy with my essay, and he's like, 'Hey bro, I'll sleep here tonight.'! And I was like, what the hell, bro!? You sh*tting with me right now!?" She furrows her brows as she makes her way downstairs, hearing some parts of their conversation.

"And I'm telling you, he sounded like a f*cking murderer last night! He's even wearing his black hoodie, bro!" As soon as she makes her way into the kitchen, the original Phoenix then recalls that he's sharing this place with his friends.

"Ahhhh sh*t! What the hell!" The man telling a story shouts as he almost spills his mug of coffee. He quickly stands up as the two other boys turn and had the same reaction as his.

"Oh, sh*t! Since when did we have a woman in the house!?" The other man is wearing a fitted black Tap Out tank tap, as a long white towel hangs around his shoulders.

"Who are— where did—" the first man to react asks again as the third man rolls his eyes.

"Calm down your nerves, Philip. It's not like it's your first time seeing a girl—"

"Shut up, Bret!" Philip exaggerates as she rubs his eyes and blinks again. "No way I am not dreaming!"

The man wearing a tank top then crosses his arms across his chest as he examines Soroya.

"You kind of look familiar, but. . . Oh, wait!" He then turns to Phoenix, who is calmly drinking his coffee.

"Aren't you the woman from Phoenix's phone? The woman who he had A LOT of pictures with from— ahhekdjdheeu!" He was put to a stop when Phoenix covers his mouth.

"Shut up, Nico." He then turns his attention to Philip and Bret. "And guys, I can explain."

•••

"Yeah, explain right here, right now."  The three men sit on the gray sofa as Phoenix was forced to sit on the couch right in front of them. Soroya was also given space between the four like she's given the privilege to watch an interrogating scene.

"Don't be too shocked about this, guys, because first of all, I already mentioned this two days ago." Phoenix was showing too much disinterest as he keeps typing something on his phone.

"Oh, come on, dude! You only asked us what if! Of course, we would think it's impossible for you to bring anyone other than So—" Philip was cut off short when Phoenix interrupted him.

"Cut it, Phil! I thought what we talked about that truth or dare was only meant for the FOUR of us!?" He shoots him a glare that symbolizes threat.

"Yeah! I mean, I would want to tell that now that SHE'S here, but I also remember that YOU, Philip, made us our oath of not telling it to others. Would you be happy for any one of us to tell your secret too?" The considerate tone of Bret made Philip think for a moment before raising a brow at Bret.

"What!? It's not like I have a secret to keep, so what's the big deal?"

"See? I told you he wouldn't even remember a single sh*t about what we did." Nico says as he still rests his back on the sofa, too comfortable that he didn't mind sitting with such poise. Philip's attention then turns to Nico.

"Of course I remember! Who am I to forget?"

"Oh yeah? Then mind telling me what secret you told us last Friday?"

"That he hasn't moved on from his ex!" As if it came out as an exclamation, Nico, Philip, Bret, and Phoneix turn their attention to her. Soroya's eyes widen, realizing that she's a SHE and not THE PHOENIX.

"How—" Nico asks as he stares at her suspiciously. Soroya gulps, remembering too much information yet telling it in a very complicated situation.

"It was just a wild guess. . . Unless I've guessed it right." He says, hoping they'd buy her excuse.

"I said that?" Philip asks the three men, but before anyone could reply, Soroya clears her throat, not wanting the rising tension between them.

"Since Phoenix couldn't tell my main purpose here, maybe I just need to tell it myself."

'Okay, here it goes.' She thought to herself. She takes a deep breath and about to answer when she feels like her tongue is tied in a knot.

'Ding dong?!'

They all look at the main door after the doorbell was ringing. They are at it for a second before Nico volunteers himself to open the door. "Finally." He mumbles as he continues to talk to the person by the door.

Silence fills the room as they waited for Nico to announce who it is. As soon as they hear the door swinging close, Nico comes back with a big paper bag in one hand and a box in the other.

"Guys, breakfast is here!"

"Yes, finally, I'm tasting this pizza you've been recommending!" Philip awkwardly chuckles as he made his way into the dining area, leaving Bret, Phoenix, and Soroya.

"Lucky you, we're having breakfast before we could even squeeze you with questions." Bret jokingly states before turning his attention to Soroya. "Join us for breakfast, Roy."

Soroya just stares at him as Bret stands up.

"Oh, sorry, is it okay to call you Roy? I'm just not yet convinced that we have a woman inside the house." He admits awkwardly as he gently scratches his nape.

"S-sure! That's fine with me."

"Great!"

"Hey guys, come on, let us eat while it is still hot!" Nico calls out, making Bret rush to them. Then, that leaves Phoenix and Soroya.

" Join us for breakfast, or they'll think of you as a rude girl." He says before standing up, leaving her all alone in the living room.

"Well, I thought it would be as easy as dealing with them when I was a man physically. Being a woman is too awkward!" He complains to herself before standing up and heading to them. But before she could turn to them, her eyes caught something strange from the outside. She feels a bit uneasy that made her turn, only to see nothing suspicious from the outside. She shrugs the thought off before heading to them.

On the other hand was Eduardus, who has just turned himself into the pizza guy. When he's done, he tries to get something from the outside, only to catch the back of Soroya. He instantly hides when he notices her shifting her attention. Seconds later, he peeks at the window again and sighs.

"Phew, that was close."