Chapter 20 : The Other Half
“S-Sorry.”
The group of guys quickly grabbed all the attention at the entrance. Alice narrowed her eyes when she saw those baseball players again. A five-foot fat guy was kneeling in front of them. He was holding a tray containing food. Kalahati sa pagkain ay natapon sa sahig. Mukhang nabangga niya ang isa sa mga ito.
“The fuck?” iritadong sabi ng lalaking pinapagitnan ng grupo, hawak ang uniporme nito na ngayon ay may mantsa.
“S-Sorry, hindi ko sinasadya.”
Pansin ni Alice ang pagtiim-bagang ng lalaki sa kabila ng paghingi ng tawad ng nakabangga rito. Ilang saglit pa ay umamo ang mukha nito at ngumiti.
“It’s okay,” saad nito. Tumingin ito sa mga kasama niya.
“Sunod na lang ako. Magpapalit lang,” paalam nito sa mga kasama. Bahagyang napangisi si Alice. What a pretentious bastard.
The poor guy remained on his knees after the one he bumped into left. He seemed to be crying and didn’t know what to do next. A few moments later, one of the group approached him and bowed. He took the tray he was holding and poured the remaining food on him.
Most students gasped but a few could be heard laughing. Especially when that baseball player rubbed his hand on the poor guy's clothes as if it was a rag.
“A-Anong ginagawa mo sa kapatid ko?!” saad ng isang babaeng may maliit na pangangatawan at hindi rin katangkaran.
“Hendrick, tumayo ka na diyan,” dagdag pa ng dalaga. Inalalayan niya ang kapatid at dali-daling lumabas ng cafeteria.
Muling ibinalik ni Alice ang tingin niya sa kinakain. Rinig naman niya ang pagbuntong hininga ni Maureen, mukhang hindi nagustuhan ang nasaksihan.
“Seriously? Hanggang kailan sila titigil sa pangbu-bully?” inis ngunit mahinang ani Maureen. “Wala ring nagbibigay ng atensyon sa mga ganitong pangyayari. Seems like it’s already normalized in this place.”
“What do you expect? Most students here are problematic,” tila walang pakialam na tugon ni Xarah habang patuloy pa rin sa pagnguya.
Masama namang tumingin si Maureen kay Xarah. “I am not problematic!”
Xarah stopped and glanced at her. Maureen frowned even more when Xarah just shrugged and resumed eating. Umikot naman ang mga mata niya.
“Ugh. I hate her already,” Maureen groaned.
Wala nang nagsalita sa table nila at nagpatuloy na lamang sa pagkain. Makalipas ang ilang minuto ay tumingin si Kyla sa buong paligid bago binasag ang katahimikan.
“Does anyone know where Brent is? Kanina ko pa siya hindi nakikita.”
Agad naman napatingin ang lahat kay Kyla. Napatingin din si Lowe at Maureen sa paligid bago siya sagutin.
“Hindi ko rin siya nakita,” ani Lowe.
“Hindi ba ikaw ang huli niyang kausap kahapon?” nagtatakang tanong ni Maureen.
“Yeah, but it was almost curfew. Agad din kaming naghiwalay,” tugon ni Kyla. Nagpalitan sila ng tingin maliban kay Xarah at Alice.
Ramdam ni Alice ang paglingon sa kaniya ng mga kasama. “How about you, Alice? Hindi mo siya nakita?”
Agad natigilan si Alice at lumingon kay Kyla nang tanungin siya nito. Agad naman siyang umiling bilang tugon.
The bell rang after a few more minutes, a sign that break-time was over and they had to go back to their respective classes. Alice dropped her spoon and immediately stood up. She walked out of the cafeteria without even saying goodbye. She heard them calling her name but she didn’t turn around.
CITEȘTI
The Nerd's Twin Sister
Polițiste / Thriller"It becomes chaos when the hunters are now the ones to be hunted." °°° In an Organization, there is a ruler. In a game, there are players. And when a player breaks the rules, there are executioners. Would you join the game out of curiosity and plea...
