Chapter 15
THE PAWN'S JEALOUSY AND WRATH
Tray na puno ng pagkain ang nakita kong nasa harapan ko nang mag-angat ako ng paningin mula sa laptop ko. Dala 'yon ng isang estudyanteng hindi ko kilala. Kumunot ang noo ko at kiming ngiti naman ang isinagot niya.
"What's that?" I asked.
"F-for you, from my classmates." Nilingon n'ya ang isang table at nang tingnan ko 'yon ay nakita ko ang ilang babaeng estudyante na nakatingin rin sa direksyon namin. Lahat sila ay ngumiti sa akin.
"Why are you giving me that?" Kunot noo kong muling binalingan ang babae sa harapan ko.
"Uhm, we thought you are hungry. K-kanina ka pa kasi nakaupo rito. Naisip lang namin na baka—"
"I don't eat burgers," putol ko sa sinasabi n'ya. It was mean, but I had enough. People were getting on my nerves every day. I appreciated that they were respecting me as their new queen, but this was getting nuts. Ridiculous. I didn't need someone to pamper me. I could do anything by myself.
"But—"
"Get lost, take that food with you, and don't ever disturb me again. Understand?" mariin ang bigkas ko sa bawat salitang binitiwan ko.
Natigilan ang babae, ilang sandali siyang napatitig sa akin at pagkatapos ay namumula ang mukhang tumalikod s'ya at bumalik sa mga kasama niya. Malamang ay napahiya s'ya sa ginawa ko lalo pa at lahat ng nasa cafeteria ng mga oras na 'yon ay nakamasid sa amin at pinapanood ang nagaganap. Nakita ko ang ginawang pag-alo ng mga kasama n'yang estudyante sa kanya nang bumalik s'ya sa table nila.
Walang pakialam na ibinalik ko ang aking atensyon sa laptop na nasa harapan ko. This was more important than those kids na feeling close sa akin.
Kahit saan ko tingnan, wala talaga akong makitang negative tungkol sa eskwelahang ito. Lahat ng puntahan kong address sa internet ay nagsasabi kung gaano kaelegante at kaganda ang Rapsodhee High. Kasama sa Top Ten Most Outstanding Universities and Academies sa buong bansa. Nasa rankings din ng academic and sports activities. Isa sa mga school sa buong bansa na may pinakaeleganteng facilities. This school was really elite and no one would think na may kagaguhang nangyayari sa loob nito.
Yeah. I was searching the history of this school. Nagbabaka-sakaling may malalaman akong maaari kong gamitin to know who was that fuckin' guy na ginagawang laruan ang lahat ng tao dito. But after hours of searching, I found nothing. Sigurado ako na isang kilalang tao ang nagpapaikot dito to the point na walang lumalabas na kahit isang negative news tungkol sa eskwelahan. Why not? The game started even before I was born. Marami nang nag-aral at nakatapos dito. I'm sure, kahit isa sa kanila ang nagbalak na ibulgar ang nangyayari sa loob nito. One out of twenty students here before was against the game, I'm sure of that, pero walang nakapagsalita at nakapaglabas ng baho ng eskwelahan.
Why? Of course, because of that fuckin' Player na pumuprotekta dito, or maybe there were other more... like the Underground Council. Hindi ba at hindi lang naman isang eskwelahan ang involve sa mga underground fights? Marami pang iba even though I couldn't name them all. At kung marami ang kasangkot, ibig sabihin lang ay marami rin ang nagpapaikot ng larong ito. That was just my conclusion and I was certain that my conclusion was right.
Lihim kong kinuwestyon ang sarili ko. Ano bang pakialam ko sa mga kasabwat sa larong ito? Wala naman akong dapat maging pakialam sa kanila. Interesado ako sa Player, sa Player lang. I didn't know why I was so interested to meet him. Nakuha n'ya ang buong atensyon ko simula noong ikwento ni Eduard ang history ng laro. Isa pang dahilan ay ang pagpatay kay Mikki.
"Hey,"
Umangat ang mukha ko nang walang pasubaling hinila ang laptop ko at isara iyon sa mismong harapan ko. Kumunot ang noo ko nang makita si Naami. Seryoso ang mukha n'ya at walang takot na nakatitig sa akin. Ang mga kamay n'ya ay mariing nakahawak sa tray ng pagkain at walang pakialam na ibinagsak n'ya iyon sa laptop.
"You bitch," mariin n'yang sabi.
Umangat ang kilay ko. She was the one who slammed the fuckin' tray in front of me while I was just here, silently minding my own business. Who was the bitch now?
I glanced at my laptop. I hope the screen was still okay. Jesus Christ, that was expensive.
I heaved a sigh and looked at Naami. "What do you want?"
"You are not supposed to be the new queen!"
What did she just say? What was really wrong with this kid? She was not the same kid anymore. Wala na ang namamangha niyang titig sa akin like what she gave to me the first time she saw me. Ngayon, all I could see in her eyes was anger and something like... jealousy.
"You should be thankful they are trying to be nice dahil ikaw ang bagong queen, but you are totally bitch para ipahiya sila nang ganoon sa harap ng iba," matapang n'yang sabi.
Oh, so this tray of food came from those kids from a while ago? Geez! I should have realized.
So?
"What are you trying to say then?" I asked trying to calm myself down.
"What I'm saying is try to be nice sometimes," Naami answered. "Because you're the new queen doesn't mean you can put everyone on shame whenever you want. Don't forget that you became the queen just because you stole the spotlight from Creed. You should know that someone is still better than you."
Kusang sumilay ang nakakalokong ngiti sa mga labi ko. Better than me? Sino? S'ya? Hindi sinasadyang napatitig ako sa mukha niya. There was nothing special about her. All I could see was a kid trying to be tough.
"I know what you are thinking. Don't underestimate me. You don't know what I am capable of," naniningkit ang mga matang sabi n'ya.
"I don't have time for this," napailing kong sabi sabay tayo. Yeah. May mas mahalagang bagay pa na kailangan kong pagtuunan ng pansin kaysa rito.
"You will die just like her someday."
Mahina ang pagkakasabi n'ya sa mga salitang 'yon, pero malinaw ko pa ring narinig. Just like her? Her? Who was she referring to? Sumagi sa utak ko ang pangalang Mikki. Was she saying na mamamatay ako kagaya ng nangyari kay Mikki?
"Naami!" That loud voice interrupted. Jake Creus was at the cafeteria's entrance. His eyes were looking straight to Naami. Nagbabanta ang mga matang 'yon. Sa likod n'ya ay nakatayo ang ilan pang myembro ng gang n'ya.
Hindi sila pinansin ni Naami. She was still staring at me. "You think it's fun being a queen. Well, it's not. You're gonna die soon."
"No one could ever kill me," I replied.
Naami's eyes narrowed. It seemed like anytime soon, this kid would explode. I couldn't wait for that to happen, so I would have a reason to break at least one of her bones.
"I can kill you!" sigaw n'ya.
I heard everyone around gasped. Marahil ay nagulat sila sa lakas ng loob ng batang ito para pagbantaan ako. Well, nagulat din naman ako bagamat hindi ko ipinahalata.
"Why did you come here, Temple? Why did you come here and ruin my life?" galit n'yang sigaw.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Parang bigla ay gusto kong tumawa sa sinabi n'ya. Ano naman ang pakialam ko sa buhay n'ya.
"Naami! Enough!" Jake Creus grabbed Naami's arm and pulled her away from me, pero nagmamatigas siya at pilit na sumugod sa akin.
It seemed that Jake was not that strong enough because Naami managed to escape from his grip. I was surprised when she literally attacked me. I was not ready and I could not avoid her hand.
Everyone froze, including Naami and I, when my lips bled. Did she... did she just punch me?
Silence fell. Everybody seemed like they were holding their breath while looking at me. Tila naghihintay sila kung ano ang magiging sagot ko sa atake ni Naami.
Marahas akong napabuntong-hininga. Naami was a pawn on this board and she wanted to be the new queen. She was jealous of me and that's why she hated me so much.
And that was just ridiculous.
Perhaps she didn't think na maaari kong maagaw sa kanya ang pwestong gusto n'ya when we first met. That's why she was so nice to me back then, but when she realized that I could be her greatest rival, she changed and started to dislike me and hate me.
I gritted my teeth. "So, this is really what you want, huh?"
Kumislap ang takot sa mga mata ni Naami at para bang gusto n'ya nang tumakbo palayo. I didn't give her a chance at all. This was what she wanted; I'd love to do her a favor.
I didn't think anything at all. Hinagip ng kamay ko ang likuran ng ulo n'ya saka s'ya malakas na isinubsob sa lamesa. Narinig ko ang malakas na tunog na nilikha ng pagtama ng ulo n'ya roon, pero wala akong pakialam.
Nagkanya-kanyang alis ang mga estudyanteng nakaupo sa malapit at lumayo sa amin. Everyone was watching as if they were watching a breathtaking movie. Karamihan ay nag-abang sa mangyayari. Ilan ang tila gustong umawat. Ilan ang tila naawa sa sitwasyon ni Naami.
I didn't give a damn at all. All I wanted to do now was to teach this kid a lesson. A lesson that she would never forget. A lesson that would always remind her that she should not try to mess with me again.
Jake tried to stop me, pero kaagad din s'yang natigilan nang matalim ko siyang titigan. If she couldn't control his gang member, I would do it for him. Napaatras na lang s'ya at tumungo.
Good!
Binalingan kong muli si Naami. Using my free hand, I grabbed the bread knife on the table, beside her bleeding head. Pwersahan ko siyang ibinangon at marahas na ihiniga sa mesa. Shit! Naami was surprisingly strong. Ramdam ko ang higpit at tigas ng mga kamay n'ya habang nanlalaban sa akin. She didn't mind na nagdurugo ang kanyang noo sanhi ng ginawa ko. Ang tanging gusto n'ya marahil ay ang makawala mula sa pagkakahawak ko.
"Get off me, bitch!" she hissed habang pilit itinutulak ang kamay kong may hawak na bread knife.
But I was stronger than she was. Naami had no idea what I've been through all those years that passed. The pain made me stronger, physically and mentally. No one would know who I really was. No one would know what made me like this.
I was the queen that Naami wished to be. Little did she know that I never wanted this? Little did she know that I, Temple Strawford, was someone that everyone would never want to be?
"Damn!" I hardly gritted my teeth nang mariin n'yang kagatin ang braso ko. Tiim bagang na itinulak ko s'ya. My arm was bleeding. "Fuck you."
"You want more?" nakangisi n'yang sagot. Parang ikinatuwa n'yang nagawa n'ya akong masugatan. She was breathing heavily but still, nagagawa n'ya pa ring magpakita ng tapang sa akin.
I grinned at her. She froze.
The next thing I knew, Naami was lying on the floor, and her right cheek was bleeding. Sa kamay ko ay naroon ang bread knife na may bahid din ng dugo. Ohh! So, ang pipitsugin at walang talim na kutsilyong ito pala ang sumugat sa pisngi n'ya.
"Temple, please stop. You have no idea what you're doing." Jake interrupted as he grabbed Naami's hand. He helped her to get up.
"I don't care," mahina ko namang sabi. Well, I really didn't care about this. Besides, killing someone was absolutely allowed in this fuckin' school. Malas lang ng mahihina dahil sila ang laging talunan.
"You will regret this," pabulong na sabi ni Naami habang pinapahid ang dugo mula sa pisngi n'ya.
This kid was one of those weaklings. Although her eyes were showing me much anger, naroon pa rin ang katotohanang mahina siya. Maaaninag pa rin ang takot sa mga mata n'ya. Mababakas pa rin ang pagiging inosente n'ya. Marami pa s'yang kailangang pagdaanan.
At ako ang isa sa mga pagdaraanan n'ya.
Humigpit ang hawak ko sa kutsilyo. I wanted to hurt her more, pero kung ano man ang naiisip kong gawin ay hindi ko na nagawa nang maramdaman ko ang matigas na kamay na humawak sa braso ko.
Three bodyguards of the Player were here. One bodyguard was almost crushing my arm. God! This guy stood over six feet. Malaki ang katawan n'ya kaya nagmistula akong bata sa tabi n'ya.
"Let go of my arm," mariin kong utos sa kanya na kaagad n'ya namang sinunod.
"Are you okay, Miss Stones?" I heard one bodyguard asked and I saw him checking Naami's wound while the third bodyguard was standing at the middle of us na parang bang pinipigilan akong makalapit ulit kay Naami.
What the hell was happening here? Bakit parang pinoprotektahan ng mga bodyguard ng Player si Naami? And oh, I forgot. Puno nga pala ng mga hidden cameras ang buong eskwelahang ito. Nakikita ng Player ang lahat ng nangyayari. And so what? Ano naman ngayon kung nakita niyang nagkakagulo sa cafeteria? There was no rule here, right? Bullying someone weaker was absolutely just fine. Then why did he send his bodyguards to protect Naami? Why the hell was he stopping me?
"Is there anything I need to know?" hindi napigilang tanong ko. Diretso akong nakatitig sa mga mata ni Naami. She looked away saka pumiksi mula sa pagkakahawak ng bodyguard.
May itinatago bang pasabog ang babaeng ito? Nakakapagtaka naman kasi na mga bodyguard pa ng Player ang nagtanggol sa kanya. There were teachers here, School Administrator, Student Council, even the knight, and other students could do that if they want to So, why? Why the Player's bodyguard?
"Please, Miss Strawford. Stop this now," mahinahong sabi ng bodyguard sa tabi ko.
He tried to take the knife away from my hand, but I didn't let him touch me once again. I dropped the knife saka ko muling tiningnan si Naami. Nakatungo lang s'ya at parang iniiwasang tumingin sa mga mata ko. Parang bigla ay nawala ang tapang na ipinakita n'ya kanina.
Napailing na tumalikod ako. Nagsayang lang ako ng oras sa lugar na ito. Kusang nahawi ang nagkumpol na mga estudyante nang humakbang ako palabas ng cafeteria.
To be honest ay hindi talaga ako makapaniwala sa nangyari. I liked the sweet and cute Naami Stones that I met before. Now that she transformed into something unlikable, I just wanted to tie her upside down and made her recite the sorry poem a hundred or a thousand times. And one more thing, about those bodyguards... Nakakapagtaka. This was the first time na nakialam sila sa ganoong gulo at—
Shit!
I stopped walking when the realization hit me. Ang mga bodyguards na 'yon, hindi sila kikilos kung walang utos galing sa Player. So, lumalabas na parang pinoprotektahan ng Player si Naami. And why was he protecting her? It could be because they were related to each other. Or something else. Whatever it was, isa lang ang naisip ko. Naami knew who the player was.
Damn it!! Bakit ngayon ko lang naisip 'yon. Kung alam n'ya kung sino ang Player, s'ya pala ang kailangan ko.
Awtomatikong pumihit ang mga paa ko pabalik sa cafeteria para balikan ang pakay ko, but something caught my attention that stopped me. I saw my mother and Miss Meira. Wala naman sanang masama na magkasama sila kasi parehas silang teacher dito, pero yong mahigpit na pagkakahawak sa braso at halos pagkaladkad na ginagawa ni Miss Meira kay Tiarah ay isang malaking mali.
What the hell was she doing? All of the sudden ay nakalimutan ko ang talagang pakay ko at sa halip ay mabilis akong humakbang patungo sa Laboratory Room kung saan tumungo sina Tiarah at Miss Meira.
"You are insane! You know you can't do anything right now!" Habang papalapit ay narinig ko ang mariing boses ni Miss Meira.
"I don't lose hope, Meira. I know I could save Temple. I will do anything for her, you know that," Tiarah answered.
Did I just hear my name being mentioned? Yes. They were talking about me.
"You are pushing yourself to death, Tiarah. Tell me, what could you do against him, huh? The Player is more than a demon. Tingnan mo nga, nagawa n'yang dalhin dito si Temple nang walang kahirap-hirap. It's too late to save her. She is now part of this game."
"So what! Maaaring kabilang na nga si Temple sa larong ito, pero hindi ibig sabihin noon ay mananatili na s'ya rito. Ililigtas ko s'ya at ilalayo sa lugar na ito, Meira. Kakayanin ko lahat, alam mo 'yan."
"So, that is the real reason why you are here. To save her from her own—"
"Shut up. Alam ko ang ginagawa ko. Huwag ka na lang makialam, Meira. Gagawin ko ang lahat para iligtas ang anak ko. Hinding-hindi s'ya magagaya kay Sahara. At kung itutuloy mo ang pakikialam mo, mapipilitan akong patahimikin ka."
"I'm just warning you. Alam mo kung gaano kalakas ang kinakalaban mo."
"I don't fuckin' care!"
Then, silence. I waited for more seconds, pero wala na akong narinig na nagsalita mula sa loob. Sa halip, ingay mula sa paparating na mga estudyante ang narinig ko. Mukhang gagamitin nila ang Laboratory Room.
Shit! Bakit ba napakaraming pumipigil sa mga gusto kong gawin ngayong araw? Nakakabwisit!
Saktong nakalapit ang mga estudyante nang makita ko ang magkasunod na paglabas nina Miss Meira at Tiarah sa exit door. Parehas silang ngumiti at tumango sa nga estudyanteng bumati sa kanila at pagkatapos ay balewalang humakbang palayo nang magkasabay.
Sa tingin ko ay hindi nila ako napansin na nasa entrance door at natatakpan ng nga estudyante. Ginusto kong habulin sila, laro pinigilan ko ang sarili ko. Punong-puno ng katanungan ang utak ko ngayon at alam kong wala akong makukuhang sagot sa kanilang dalawa kahit pa ipagsigawan ko sa mukha nila na narinig ko ang pag-uusap nila.
My mother wanted to save me from this hell. Huh! How touching. I never thought na 'yon ang dahilan kaya s'ya narito. She hated me so much, that's all I knew.
Meanwhile, Miss Meira knows how dangerous her plan was. Sa tono ng pag-uusap nila, parang matagal na silang magkakilala. Isa pa, bakit nabanggit ni Tiarah si Sahara? Hindi papayag na magaya ako sa kanya? Pati ba si Sahara ay kasama sa larong ito?
Shit! Too many questions. Mukhang marami pa akong hakbang na kailangang gawin para maging malinaw ang lahat. Para kasing habang tumatagal ay padagdag nang padagdag ang mga tanong. Ibig sabihin, maraming natatagong sikreto ang eskwelahang ito.
At isa si Tiarah sa mga nakakaalam ng sikretong iyon.
........................................
--->> Jazzie S. Bayla