Of The Shattered Compass

Chapter 3 : The Westerners

Chapter 3

AVIAH RHEIKO SUMMER

Sa tulong ng pagtatanong tanong, nakarating ako sa Kristoff Academy, makakalimutin lang talaga ako at hindi ko natanong kay Cali ang school na to'. Hindi ko alam ang magiging reaksyon ko, nandito na ako sa paaralan kung saan nag-aaral ang taong babalikan ko. Matutuwa nga kaya siya kapag nakita niya ako ?

I haul a deep breath before entering the ground of Kristoff, I am faltering right now. I don't know what to say if we bump into each other's arm in one way. I feel nervous and excited at the same time. Pumasok na ako at natanaw ko na ang malawak na ground, madaming estudyante ang naglipana, iba ibang grupo ang aking nakikita. Wearing their soccer uniform, group of jocks are practicing on the other side of the ground, there were circle of girls wandering around the campus screeching on every boys that passed, wearing more shorter skirt than usual and having a full tank make up they look like an abstract canvass, some plain students are rambling around, others are sitting and chatting on the ground. Now what ? Saang grupo ako pwedeng magtanong sa mga ito ? Kung saan ang West Dorm ?

Sa gitna ng pag-aalangan ko at problema, may kumalabit sa aking likuran.

"Oh my god ! Oh my god ! Oh my god. Rheiko, you're really here ?" isang matinis na boses ang umalingawngaw sa harapan ko.

"Isn't it obvious ?" taas na kilay kong tanong.

"Oh my god !" sigaw niya at saka ako niyakap. "..akala ko nagbibiro ka lang na uuwi ka na, hindi mo man lang sinabi na seryoso pala, and wow.." tinignan niya ako mula ulo hanggang paa. "...mas lalo kang gumanda."

"Silly !" ngiti ko sa kanya. "I've been looking for you for ages Audie, hindi mo sinasagot ang mga text at tawag ko, na-late tuloy ako sa klase ko." reklamo ko at humalukipkip sa isang tabi.

Yumakap siya sa kanang braso ko."It's okay Rheiko, pangalawang araw palang ng klase no' wala ka namang makakaligtaan agad na lecture at hindi yon ganoon kahalaga pero kung balak mo agawin ang top spot pwedeng malaking kawalan talaga yon."

Oh right, the top spot. So the rumors are true, everyone here is  yearning for the position to lead and to become dominating legendary eminence in collective dynasty.

"Hindi ko balak gawin yon." sagot ko nalang.

"Yes of course, I know you don't want to conquest the title bearer even if you can." napatingin ako sa sinabi niya, hindi ko naman talaga maaring gawin yun kahit kaya ko.

"40minutes, male-late na naman ako sa klase ko Audie pwede bang pakituro mo saan yung west dorm ?" mabuti at nandito na si Audie.

"West dorm ka ? Alright, ihahatid kita sa dorm leader ng west building, aish makikita ko na naman yung lalaking masungit na yun, hindi bale para sayo naman to' kaya tara na." hinila niya ako ng biglaan kaya wala na akong nagawa.

---

"By the way Rheiko, mind if I ask ----"

"Hindi pa kami nagkikita." mabilis kong sagot sa amba niyang tanong.

"Wow ! You can read someone's mind now ?"

Napatawa ako ng bahagya. "No, it is just your face that is obvious for the bare question."

"You can't read mind but you're good in reading people's faces huh ?" ang bilis naman kase basahin ng mukha niya.

Hindi nalang ako sumagot at nagpahila sa kanya patungo sa west building tulad ng sabi niya.

When we reach the west dorm and passing the hallway, couples of students are snickering, some are throwing daggers at us especially to Audie, some of the girls are crossing their arms and raising their newly drawn out eyebrow, there are bunch of gangster looking guys gesturing the position like there is a coming war. What the hell is this place and why they are like that ?