Death Trap Pandemonium (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Wandering Souls

3 months later. . .

February 1, 2016; Monday
Elysium University, Santa Filomena
11:15 am

  Clyde watched in silent amusement as Natalia sighed for the fifth time in a row. She was sitting on the grass, overlooking the field, with art materials cluttered around her. He watched as her short hair flew around her face as the wind breezed through the quadrangle, ruffling the pages of her sketchpad. Iritado nitong sinubukang paamuhin ang mga papel at kagamitan niya, ngunit base sa muli niyang pagbuntong-hininga, mukhang hindi ito umeepekto.

Naglakad palapit sa dalaga si Clyde at sinadya niyang lakasan ang bawat yapak niya. If there was one thing he learnt from the therapy sessions they had to go through, it was that creeping up on any of them was a horrible idea. Tumikhim siya at agad na napalingon sa kanya si Natalia.

"Akala ko pa naman, isa ka sa mga responsable sa 8teen," pang-aasar niya at naupo sa tabi nito. "Turns out, just like the rest of us stupid boys, you're not above cramming."

She stared at him for a good 10 seconds as if she was contemplating fulfilling her threat about cutting off his family jewels all those months ago. Ngunit hindi nagpatinag si Clyde at patuloy na ngumisi.

"Please. As if hindi rin kayo nalulunod sa paghahabol ng requirements dahil sa one month leave na ibinigay sa 'tin ng admin," pasaring ng dalaga habang inililigpit ang mga gamit niya.

"Sorry ka, pero katatapos ko lang ng lahat ng reqs ko. Eh. Maybe I'm just smart," Clyde said nonchalantly, egging her on. "O baka mas magaling lang talaga ako sa time management."

The last statement, of course, was a big fat bluff. Bagamat nagawa niya ngang tapusin ang mga requirements niya, madalas pa ring nawawala ang sense of time ni Clyde. Sa kabila ng mga therapy sessions na in-attendan nila, may mga oras pa ring napupunta siya sa ibang lugar. Somewhere deep within his mind. But Natalia—despite being his therapy buddy—didn't need to know that.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Natalia shot back. "Look, alam kong may usapan tayo. Pero wala talaga ako sa tamang head space ngayon."

"Naiintindihan ko. Hindi mo kailangang magpaliwanag."

She glanced at him as if she didn't believe him before her face softened. Of course he understood. For all his bravado and incessant joking. . .hindi nakakalimutan ni Clyde kung ano ang araw na iyon. What that day meant for them. Lord knows how hard he'd tried to forget. He had cried, screamed, watched silently as blood dripped from his arms towards the tiles. Eventually, he clung to finishing his Theology requirements to keep himself sane. Ngunit kahit anong gawin niya, hindi siya makalimot.

Tila naririnig niya ulit ang mga palahaw ni Max at nararamdaman ang haplos ng kadena sa mga braso niya. Bahagya siyang napabalikwas at kaagad naman itong napansin ni Natalia.

Clyde took a shuddering breath, trying to bring himself back to the present, when he felt a soft touch on his arm. Napatingin siya sa dalaga. She was looking at him with the same expression she wore when they found out that they were going to be therapy partners, and though she wanted to switch with Anthony for Chloe, she wasn't able to do so when his mother thanked her sincerely for helping her son recover. He should've felt embarrassed back then and embarrassed now that she's seeing him so vulnerable. But all he felt was relief. Dahil alam niyang naiintindihan ni Natalia, sa kabila ng pagtanggi at pagtatago niya.

Kaya naman ngumiti siya upang ipaalam dito na ayos lang siya. Kakayanin niya.

She was still looking at him with skepticism and concern until her stomach began to grumble. Wala sa sariling napatawa si Clyde hanggang maging si Natalia ay mapatawa na lang din. Sa kabila ng mga dati nitong pagbabanta, ni hindi siya tinignan ng masama ni Natalia nang akbayan niya ang dalaga at ayain itong kumain bago sila um-attend ng org meeting.