Snow White is a Gangster (Published under Cloak Pop Fiction)

Chapter 12: Montello High

Ipinagpatuloy ko ang mga normal kong ginagawa sa Arturia University nung araw na iyon habang nangako si Forest na magbabantay sa paligid ng Montello High. I trust her when it comes to guarding a target from a distance. Nakapagtataka man subalit kahit ilang kilometro ang layo niya mula sa lugar ay tila alam niya ang bawat kilos ng mga tao rito. Well, she wouldn't be a Reaper if she was just an ordinary girl.

Matapos ang lahat ng mga klase ko ay dumiretso na ako sa gym upang mag-paalam sa coach. Everything here in Arturia was in order. I didn't like messy and chaotic places. Chaos ruins all the harmony in the surrounding. Subalit nang gabing iyon ay tila nag-iba ang ikot ng mundo at nagbibiro ang tadhana sapagkat iniharap nito sa akin ang 'messy' at 'chaotic' na lugar kong sinasabi. Ang lugar kung nasaan ngayon si Forest at nagbabantay: Montello High.

Mula sa dulo ng Nightwoods ay ipinasok ko ang kotse at huminto sa kalagitnaan noon. This place was still as cold as when I first ran here to get someone out.

"Wow! How did you know that I'm here?" Narinig kong wika ni Forest mula sa itaas ng mga puno doon. I looked up and saw her climbed down like a cat from the tree.

"There's no way that you'll be watching from the entrance. So I took the back way. But Forest, you don't have to come to this place," sagot ko.

Ngumiti lang sya habang papalapit sa akin at saka sumandal sa sasakyan ko. "I don't feel what I know you are feeling towards this place," wika niya.

Matiim ko syang tiningnan upang hanapin ang katotohanan sa kanyang sinabi. It was very easy to read mischief through Forest. But whenever she gets serious, I could only see a black, endless mirror. I gave up on reading her.

"This was where the young Reaper was killed," tahimik na pahayag ko. Hindi sya sumagot at nanatiling nakatingin lang sa itaas. Nang hindi pa rin sya kumilos ay muli akong nagsalita. "I'll go in. You can leave now, Forest," wika ko.

Tumingin sya sa akin and I saw a glimpse of emotion in her eyes. It was gone too soon, though. Maybe it was just a glimpse of a ghost.

"I'll sleep on top of your car first. I know you got blankets inside." Muli sana akong magsasalita upang kumbinsihin siyang umuwi na lang subalit pinutol niya iyon at sinabing, "I'll be gone in an hour. Don't worry about your car."

I looked at the car and then to her. It was not just about the car, though. I just really didn't like the Nightwoods. Nagkibit-balikat na lang ako at saka naglakad papunta sa Montello High.

Napahinto ako nang ilang metro ang layo mula sa bukana ng eskwelahan. It was 7:00 in the evening and yet everyone seemed to be alive and outside, on the school yard. There were groups of students lying on the ground and... rapping? Some of them were just passing by. Some were night jogging. It looked cluttered compared to the clean lines of Arturia campus. It was not exactly messy or chaotic, but it felt so unorganized. I got a sudden itch to clean. Hindi ko alam kung muli akong hahakbang palabas ng Nightwoods o babalik sa kotse at kakalimutan ang misyon. Sa huli ay nanaig ang kailangan kong gawin kung kaya't nagpatuloy ako sa paglalakad.

I was about to just stay in the dark subalit natanaw ko sa parking lot ang isang Hummer. I knew whose car that was. Only he would dare show off in a way that would assert his superiority. I decided to let him know of my presence by going to the Administrator's Office.