I was not aware that the place where they hold their meetings were usually taking place in one of the most subtle location here in the campus to begin a group discussion with.
Sinumang estudyante e walang iisiping masama oras na makita nila kami na magkakasama sa kuwartong ito. To tell the truth, it was wise and efficient. Nasa loob lang naman kami ng detention room.
"Z already asked permission from Sir Latagan. Puwede na tayo mag-meeting dito," sambit ni Ray habang nakaupo siya sa ibabaw ng mesa malapit sa may pintuan.
Kyle on the other hand was busy closing the windows and shutting the blinds down. "All set na rin tayo sa mga bintana, tingin ko naman walang sinuman ang magbabalak na sumilip dito."
Nessi shrugged. "Obviously, sinong sisilip sa loob ng detention room?"
"Ano bang sabi ko?" Kyle backfired.
Akmang may sasabihin pa sana si Nessi nang biglang magsalita si Cris habang nakatayo sa aming harapan. "Enough, ladies. We will start now."
Both Kyle and Nessi stopped talking and went to find their own place. Umupo silang magkalayo sa isa't isa. Kyle sat near Ray, while Nessi decided to sit on the chair a few meters away from where I was seated.
"Alam ni'yo naman na tuloy pa rin ang plano nating lahat, gusto nating malaman ang tunay na nangyari kay Casey. At ngayon, kasama natin ang bagong miyembro ng grupo," Cris looked at me, resulting for everyone to give me a cold stare. "Walang iba kung hindi si Kent Harada."
Nessi clapped sarcastically, "Yey." She even raised her left hands as if she was cheering.
Hindi ko alam kung ano ang gagawin ko. I was thinking whether I awkwardly stand up and introduce myself, or maybe should I just remain myself seated and do the introduction that way?
Knowing the audience that I have in front of me, all ulterior motives that I have can be seen even thru the naked eye. Wala akong palag sa pagtatago ng sikreto sa kanila, I may have a lot of buried secrets back in my previous life that I thought I could escape from, but then there's Chris who had managed to dig it all up like a piece of cake to feed this little freaks sitting around me.
"So when will you start introducing yourself?" I was totally taken aback by what I heard. Napalingon ako sa direksiyon kung kanino nanggaling ang tanong na iyon.
It was Nessi. A smirk can be seen painted over her face. She's literally enjoying the tension that was growing around the detention room, every passing seconds feel like an eternity to me, if only I have a way out of this I already did try to escape this chaos.
I better not be engulfed with their intimidation.
"Well, hi guys. I'm Kent Harada. I think we don't need a formal introduction since most of you knows me already, right?" Isa-isa kong tiningnan sina Cris, Kyle, at Ray. "It's only Nessi who have no idea who I am."
Nessi slowly nodded. "You strike me with an intimidating vibes. Looks like I've read your body language wrong," aniya.
"Why bother read my body language? I'm an open book," I smiled. "For now, I'm just your group's new double agent from unit 16 of Dormisteryo, who will help you all with your own cause of finding Casey."
"Enough with the introduction," Cris interrupted.
Napansin kong medyo naging awkward ang sitwasyon sa loob ng detention room. With the rain falling hard outside, para kaming nasa pelikula na maya-maya lang ay may isang mawawala sa aming lima.
"Wait, hindi pa tapos si Kent," ang sabi ni Nessi.
"What other things do you need to know about him?" Cris asked.
"Well, let him tell us what we need to know? Perhaps I need to start," tumayo si Nessi at naglakad papunta sa harapan.
She looked at me and her red jacket became the center of my attention.
"So Kent, ang pangalan ko ay Nessi, I'm a communication art student and if you know Clyde," kumindat siya sa akin. "I knew something about him that could help you with your mission. Masasabi kong lahat tayo rito ay may kaniya-kaniyang edge sa paghahanap kay Casey and I did my own job to do that for Cris. Kahit na gustong-gusto ko yung attention na binibigay ni boss sa akin ngayon, I cannot lie, nagseselos pa rin talaga ako kay Casey nang lubusan," she pouted.
"But that won't change the side whose I'm on. Kahit na karibal ko ang gustong hanapin ni Cris, I'm going to help him find out what happened to her. And you as our group's double agent, I want to say that Clyde is an open book as well. Mahilig siya sa symbolism! And if you want to get deep into him—pun intended! Well, you better talk to him about symbols and whatnots," aniya.
"Speaking of that, gusto kong malaman ninyo na bumili si Clyde ng padlocks para sa amin. At ako lang yung natatanging binigyan niya ng kulay pulang padlock, if he's into symbolism, what do you think that means?" I asked her.
Nessi smiled. "Quite subtle. Marami kasing ibig sabihin ang kulay pula. And knowing Clyde, alam kong hindi niya iyon ibibigay sa iyo nang gano'n lang. Based on how I read Clyde's actions, he strucked me as the guy na maraming nalalaman, nerdy, alam mo na, typical stereotype ng mga genius, and if I were to say, all actions na gagawin niya ay may meaning. Now, back to your question, kung binigyan ka niya ng pulang padlock, then that means he's passively giving you a sign of aggression. Ano bang ginawa mo para bigyan ka niya ng gano'n aber?"
"Well, noong hinahanap ko kasi yung computer science laboratory para hanapin si Ray, nagkasalubong kami ni Clyde sa daan. He pointed to me where to find the lab at feeling ko baka dahil doon eh pinagsususpetsahan niya ako," aniko.
"You better be careful with them, ayaw kong mabulilyaso itong plano natin. If I needed you as my double-agent, kailangan hindi nila malaman na nasa panig ka namin," sambit ni Cris.
"Wait, so bumili na sila ng padlocks?" ang tanong ni Ray.
"Oo, bumili na sila ng padlock para sa mga drawer nila. I'm sure hindi na sila mananakawan dahil doon," ang sabi ko pa sa kaniya.
"Tingin ko nga," medyo malungkot na turan ni Ray.
I know he was in the mood on stealing briefs from my dormmates pero hindi ko naman sinasabing natutuwa ako sa ginagawa niya. But seeing his disappointment felt quite guilty, since I'm the one who initiated with the plan to buy our own padlocks in unit 16.
"What if na-misinterpret lang ninyo si Clyde? Malay naman natin kung iyon lang yung kulay ng padlock na available di ba?" Hirit naman ni Kyle.
"Girl, you don't know Clyde like I do. Isang beses nga binigyan niya ako ng poster ng bulaklak na black dahlia eh, he means bad about me. We were never been close at ramdam ko yung inis niya sa akin whenever I show off against him, " Nessi squinted her eyes as she look to Kyle.
"Puro lang naman kasi kayo assumptions," depensa pa ni Kyle.
"Fine, let's take it this way. Kung tama si Nessi that Clyde shows aggression to Kent, then how will we handle this?" ang sabi ni Cris sa amin. "We need to prevent him on sabotaging our mission. Kung hindi magtitiwala si Clyde kay Kent, then Kent will not be able to find out what happened. Hindi sila magkukuwento kung ano ba talagang nangyari noong gabing iyon. "
Kung alam lang nila, palagi ngang iniiwasan nina Kurt yung topic na iyon whenever I bring it up. It's like a taboo that they won't speak anyone about with.
"Kent has unknowingly put a target on his back," Nessi slowly shook her head. "Ba't kasi hindi ka nag-iingat?"
"What can I do? Hindi ko naman alam na gano'n yung mangyayari?" Ang depensa ko pa. "All of this are against my own will."
"Enough!" Parehas kami ni Nessi na tiningnan nang masama ni Cris. "If both of you will not stop acting like that and keep blaming each other, it would be best for the two of you to go out of this room."
Nessi raised her hands. "Fine, fine. Do your job boss," muling siyang bumalik sa kinauupuan niya.
Minabuti ko na lang din munang manahimik. Knowing these people around me, hindi ko alam kung ano pa ang mga bagay na nalalaman nila tungkol sa akin. If they were able to dig on my past, what other things they are capable of doing so?
Bumuntong-hininga si Cris. "We all know for a fact na hindi ninyo ginustong lahat na mapunta sa sitwasyon na ito. It was not my intention to do this to all of you as well. But I hope you all will understand na hindi lang ito para sa akin, it is for Casey. Kung walang ibang tutulong sa akin na hanapin siya, sino ang gagawa nito?"
The sound of the rain outside numbed the awkwardness in the room.
I saw how serious everyone looked right now. If Cris was telling the truth, baka parehas lang kami nina Kyle, Ray, at Nessi, na ginagawa ito pero labag talaga sa loob naming lahat. If that's the case, I do wonder what villainous thing did Cris do to them.
Anong leverage ang hawak niya sa kanila para sundin siya ng mga ito? Kung tutuusin, creating a small group like this will not be easy for those who have never been a part of it in the first place. Kung hindi nila kilala nang lubos si Casey, why would they even bother finding her?
I agree it would be a good way to help someone on their cause of finding their missing loved one, pero sa sitwasyon na ito, I disagree that all of us are willing enough to sacrifice everything for Casey.
"Look at the bright side, kayo yung mga taong pinagkatiwalaan ko na tumulong sa akin sa paghahanap kay Casey. Of all people I can trust, I have taken into consideration your skills and abilities to help. Wala kayo rito kung wala kayong maiaambag sa grupo," ang dagdag pa ni Cris.
"Boss? Is it like you're taking advantage of us?" Nessi smiled at him. "Kung wala kami rito, it's because wala kaming kuwenta for you? Ganern?"
I saw Cris' jaw clenched. May halong inis yung titig na binigay niya kay Nessi. Despite how obsessed Nessi is of him, I still commend the fact that she can talk back to him like this.
"Don't start with me, Nessi."
"Ba't naman boss? Don't you want to let them know why I'm here?"
"Please, stop. This is not about me—"
"It's all about you, Cris. Hindi ko alam kung ba't gusto mong hanapin si Casey. I know for sure it's not because you totally loved the girl, there must be something else you are hiding. If you think you have leverage against us so that you can keep us at bay, then you were wrong," Nessi kept talking.
Maging sina Kyle at Ray ay wala ring magawa sa sitwasyong nangyayari. They mentioned to me earlier that Nessi could be a huge part of the situation. She is obsessed of Cris, but clearly right now it shows otherwise.
"What do you mean about that, Nessi?" Cris asked her.
Nessi shrugged. "Would you like me to spill the tea?"
Before Cris could react to what she say, a bright white flash of thunder appears outside, at biglang umalingawngaw ang malakas na kulog kasunod nito.
Kyle went to hug and hide beside Ray as she closed her eyes while Nessi and Cris just looked and stared to each other.
"I'll dismiss this meeting," ang sabi ni Cris. "I will not entertain this kind of conversation specially with the kind of person like you, Nessi."
He turned around to walk his way to the door. "Before I go, Kent," lumingon siya sa direksiyon ko. "Whatever happens, make sure you can pacify Clyde if he means negative to our business. Otherwise I will act upon it if you fail to do so."
Binuksan ni Cris ang pinto at tuluyang nilisan ang detention room. Naiwan kaming apat nina Nessi sa loob at pare-parehas kaming tulala sa lahat ng kaganapan.
"A-anong nangyari?" I asked them.
Nessi pouted. "Well, my little Cris is just intimidated of me. Alam niya kasi na marami akong alam sa kaniya. Even Ray couldn't find any traces about him pero ibahin ninyo ako. I know Cris more than anyone in this room knows him, kaya sa lahat ng puwede niyang katakutan, ako iyon."
"Then why don't you tell those secrets to us?" Ray asked her.
"I promised him that I'll help him find Casey. Ayaw ko lang yung pinamumukha niya sa inyo that he's above everyone of us. Hindi naman iyon masama di ba? As much as I care about him, may puso pa rin naman ako para sa inyo," Nessi smiled and slowly looked into my direction. "Lalo na sa iyo, you looked so cute specially when you don't know something."
I didn't bother to respond.
"Tara na, umuwi na tayo. Wala na tayong mapapala rito," tumayo na rin si Kyle at naghanda na ring umalis.
Ray was still looking into Nessi but he decided to give it up. "Mabuti pa nga."
Sabay na umalis sina Kyle at Ray at naiwan na lang kami ni Nessi sa loob ng detention room. Hindi ko alam ang dahilan kung ba't nanatili pa ako sa loob kasama si Nessi pero may nagsasabi sa akin na kailangan ko munang mag-stay.
"Why don't you go na? Malakas ulan o?" Nessi asked me.
"May gusto lang akong malaman," aniko.
"Sure, marites lang?" she smiled.
"Seryoso. About Cris. Did he blackmail everyone to follow his orders?" I can't help but ask.
Tumango si Nessi. "If you think that's blackmailing then I can say oo."
"Bakit niya ba to ginagawa? Why can't he just give up on finding Casey?" Ang sunod kong tanong sa kaniya.
"Kent, if you share someone a very important secret, like a close friend of yours o sa jowa mo. Then they just disappear, do you think you can sleep in peace knowing that someone knows your secret?" Nessi answered.
"Iniisip mo ba na may sikretong alam si Casey tungkol kay Cris?"
Tumayo si Nessi at naglakad papunta sa pinto. "You never heard that from me ha," she looked back and winked before leaving the room.
The rainstorm went stronger as it muffled the thoughts running inside my head. What did she mean by that?