Shit Announcement
CROSS
PAGKATAPOS NAMING MAG-USAP ng principal ay inutusan ako nitong pumunta sa production room na agad kong tinangihan. She wants me to announce my level at the school so that's a big no to me.
I don't want to attract more attention than I already have right now because I had enough. Though, I didn't expect the next things happened after that. Coz yeah, all my efforts just thrown out in a garbage within a heartbeat.
There's a smile on my face when I walk out through the main building, for me to take my lunch when suddenly... The students around me pause from their tracks when they saw my face.
I frowned in confusion.
All the stares pierced on me like daggers. It feels like, I'm watching a suspense movie—right in front of me. Or maybe I'm wrong because hell— I am in the movie itself. Wait—what?
Yes, your right!
Everything here went into a slow motion sceen! Parang may alien nalang na biglang bumaba sa earth tapos pinatigil ang oras sa sobrang tahimik at pagkatulala ng mga tao sa paligid ko.
Shit. Ito ba ang epekto ng pagkakaroon ko ng ID?
"Geez, totoo ba itong nakikita ko or my eyes are just fooling me?" A heard a girl student said, dramatically.
Nakatingin ito sa direksyon ko gaya ng lahat nang hindi kumukurap. The look on their faces telling me that they just saw a ghost. Her reaction is annoying as fuck and I want to break her neck for that.
"Yes, I think we are seeing the same person, June. It's been days..." Segunda ng isa pang babae sa katabi na sapat lang para marinig ko. Bakas sa mukha nito ang takot at pagkabalisa.
Don't tell me, ganoon kabilis ang balita tungkol sa pagkakaroon ko nang—
"Shit! The Vice President of the Death Commission is here—"
What?
Bahagyang nakatungo akong lumingon sa aking likuran na sana'y... hindi ko na ginawa pa. It's definitely a wrong move. Sinusundan ba niya ako?
I thought, the students are talking about me. Assuming lang pala ako—tangina. Tsk.
"All of you, at the open field. Now." The man standing in front of me said and all of the students around ran away from us hurriedly. Para ngang may mag-aaway pa nga sa kanila ng dahil sa pagmamadali.
Ugh, fools.
Pinasadahan ko nang tingin ang bise president ng Death Commission. He's now standing right behind me. I check him out from head to toe and suddenly our eyes met.
That was embarrassing! But yeah—he still looks good. He'd got a new hair cut and that really makes him hot as fvck.
Then, while I'm watching him... I realized that...
His voice was not even loud a while ago. Parang normal na boses lang niya iyon na kalmado, malamig at nakakapangilabot ang tono na ginamit niya---tapos nagtakbuan na silang lahat?!
God—I hate drugs!
"Aren't you gonna follow them?"
Tinitigan ko siyang ng walang emosyon saka pinaikot ang aking mata. Heck—I'm not like those fools na parang tangang tumakbo papunta sa kung saan ng dahil sa sinabi niya.
Damn, they can just walk. But I admit, this man here amazed me. He had the most convincing voice that I've ever know.
But seriously talking, guys... are those students were even a reaper? Hindi naman sila nag-react ng ganoon noong itinulak ako sa building, ah? I mean, Zadreth was also there.
Maybe, they are just surprised that after a week of disappearance, the Vice President decided to show up? I nodded to my own self. I think, that make sense.
Pero teka lang...
Anong ginagawa ni Zadreth dito sa garden? Y'know, based on my reseaches, he prefers walking on a concrecte lane so his shoes won't get any stains.
So why is he here? Coz, fuck. Everything is messed up. Pwede naman siyang mag-announve nalang sa production room para marinig ng lahat di ba?
"And why would I?" I asked him back after I went back to reality.
I turned my back on him before he can answer. Pero hindi pa ako nakakalayo... may isang malapad na kamay kaagad ang biglang humawak sa braso ko at hinila ako ng marahas paharap.
"What the fuck?!" I hissed angrily.
"I'm an officer, Crisanta. You must follow my command."
Zadreth remained his emotionless tone as he said that before continued walking, taking me with him. Yes, he is dragging me! Saan naman kaya ako dadalhin ng tanong 'to?
"I'm aware, Vice. But why did you ordered us to go to the open field? Mind telling me the reason?" I replied. Nagpatangay nalang ako sa kanya dahil no choice din ako.
"There's an announcement." Tumigil siya sandali para tapunan ako ng tingin. "And you are going with me there so you can hear the words that will turn your wold upside down."
"Na-ah. I don't think so?" Hindi naniniwalang sagot ko in sarcastic way.
Hindi na niya ako pinansin at nagpatuloy nalang sa pagkaladkad sa akin papunta sa open field. Nadismaya ako sa ginawa niya kaya nakasimangot lang ako hanggang sa makarating kami sa doon.
Ganito kasi yan...
I'm expecting him to open up about the deal we made but he didn't. Nag-expect din ako na makakatanggap ako ng simpleng 'congratulations' mula sa kanya pero hindi nangyari.
Buti pa si kamatayan.
Even if he's not sincere with he's greetings and condolences , ginawa pa rin niya iyon. Unlike Zadreth, mas tuyo pa siya kaysa sa Sahara Dessert kung makitungo. I guess, I expected too much.
Now I feel awful. I'm really starving to death and I badly want to eat. Ni hindi pa kasi ako nakakakain ng kahit na ano mula kaninang umaga tapos hindi pa din ako makakakain ngayon?
Fuck this shit announcement!
Arrgh—fuck.
--
Parang gusto kong lumubog mula sa kinatatayuan ko ngayon habang hila-hila ako ni Zad patungo sa open field. Gaya ng naunang pagtitipon na nasaksihan ko dito noon, biglang nahawi ang mga estudyante para bigyan kami ng mararaanan.
But that is not my problem right now.
What I am problemaying this time is—being watch by everyone. Kasasabi ko lang na ayoko ng atensyon tapos bigla nalang mangyayari ito? Ano yun?
Pinagkaitan ng tadhana? Langya, psh.
Why Zadreth can't just leave me fucking alone and make his own way through the crowd? Y'know? Lahat ng tao ngayon sa aking paligid ay binibigyan ako ng nakakamatay na tingin.
It's not like... I want peace. This day will do. I just want to enjoy the euphoria of finaly having my ID, after two weeks of waiting.
Hindi rin naman biro ang level 18, ha?
I'm not actually expecting to receive that level because I'm just a nobody here. Isa pa, baguhan lang ako. I think, it's my background who did all the work.
Mayaman pa rin naman kasi ako sa binigay kong status sheet kung saan naka tala ang lahat ng ari-arian ko at ng parents ko. Hindi nga lang kasama iyong mga illegal dahil baka matapatan ko na si Zadreth kapag nagkataon.
By the way, habang kinakaladkad ako ni Zad... Napansin kong may mga black board na naka-hilera sa magkabilang side ng open field. The boards are about 10.
The black boards are covered with black cloths. There are also two members of the Death Commission to each boards who seems to guard the piece of wood from the curious students.
I frowned.
I'm wondering what those for? Nakatala kaya doon ang sinasabi ni Zadreth na babago sa mundo ko? Hmm..
Na-ah, I don't think so. If I know, those boards only contain the students names of St. Death High.
But for what reason? Are the list has something to do with the reapers?
Ugh! Stop thinking, Cross!
I forcefully erased my thoughts when Zadreth stopped from our tracks. Sandaling tinapunan niya ako ng tingin sabay himas sa buhok ko bago patalon na inakyat ang build-up stage sa pinaka-dulong bahagi ng openfield.
Doon ko napagtanto na nasa stage din pala ang President na si Stan at ang Secretary ng Death Commission. Nakalimutan ko nga lang pangalan niya.
So ayun. May kanya-kanya silang hawak na cordless mic gaya nalang dati pero ang kinaibahan lang ngayon, wala nang emcee.
So speaking of emcee...
I'm kinda confused about the bitches disappearance since the Wipe Out happened. Mula noon hindi ko na nakita si Sumera, si Aika, si Natasha, si Hanna at ang ilan pa sa mga bullies ko.
I wonder where they are...
Isang linggo na rin ang nakalilipas ng mawala sila na parang bula. Kasama din kaya sila sa meeting na pinuntahan ni Sumera? I mean, pwede naman ang theory ko ,right?
"Students of St. Death High, you are called here because of the reason that the Admin sets new changes for our school." The President started without any greetings. Sa kanya naman napunta ng atensyon ko ngayon.
And based on my observation, I can say that he's quiet straight to the point. Hmm. My kind of man. Hahaha!
"And those changes will going to happened as soon as possible. I might also add that we, the Death Commission, is not an exemption with this. Some of you will benefit through the changes and some are not."
"Actually, it's the Death Commission only who's really affected here. And that's because we will change all of our designated dorms." Ani ni Ms. Secretary sa malanding paraan. Gayunpaman, alam kong pineke lang niya iyon.
Bumaling naman ako kay Zadreth. He also has a mic on his hand so I'm assuming that he will going to talk next. At hindi naman ako nagkamali dahil siya nga ang sumunod.
"You heard it right, reapers." Zad started using his usual chilling voice. "From now on... half of our population will move to each others' dorms. And the pattern will be alternate boys and girls. In other words, both sex will join in each room, alone. We all knew that every dorm have to be occupied by three bed spacers. In this case, there's only two person can occupy a dorm. The Death Commission already fixed the changes of our setting so everything is fixed now. We all hope that everyone will participate in this because in the first place... You have no choice but to follow and go with the flow. Am I right?"
Every one nodded immediately, afraid to get caught by him. Except for me.
"Maybe you are also wonderin' why this changes happened all suddenly..." The President pause. "It's because, more than a week ago... there's a woman intruder who was seen in the middle of the night after we choose the Slave of the week. And she... just intrudes the Death Commission's dorm. Because of that, the admin decided to partner a woman and a man in a room 'cause that will prove our capacities to fight. Also, men can fight more to protect our women. So it's a win situation for the majority."
"But sadly, the girl, who happened to be a spy, escaped already before the arrows can corner her. Wala namang nanakaw ang babae pero kailangan pa rin nating mag-ingat. The Death Commission was sure that the woman is one of the students here. This is also not the first time that our school has been intruded by the outsiders. You see? Pati sariling estudyante ng school na ito ay nilolooban ang Death Commission's dorm?" -Secretary.
"So before that woman can get any info's from our Commission... We need to eliminate her as soon as possible before she can finish her mission and bring an alliance here." Pagpapatuloy ni Zadreth saka pinasadahan ng tingin ang lahat ng mga estudyante na tahimik na nakikinig.
After that, he settled his eyes on me.
I gulped.
Pakiramdam ko ay alam niya ang sikreto ko sa uri palang ng pagtingin niya. I am the intuder they're talking about. Yung manor lang naman ang pinasok ko para kuhanan ng litrato si Zadreth. Pero nag-assume na sila ng kung ano-ano.
So, ito rin pala ang dahilan kaya nawala siya ng isang linggo? I'm talking about Zadreth here. Bakit kaya nag-extend siya ng absents? He only promised me two days?
"The next changes that will also happen now is giving the faculty enough power to punish students who disobey the rules, such as being late, cheating, vandalism and many more within school hours." -Secretary.
"Don't worry, students. The punishment will be easy as piece of cake. So," ang Presidente muli ang nag-salita. "we still rule this hell. Our build-in hell for the monster like us! Right, Secretary?"
"Yes, President Stan. And aside from that, we are also granted to suggest any ideas for our upcomming grand ball. It's just a month of waiting starting today and I suggest to all of you to seek new fabulous dresses and tuxedos for the party!"
Nagbulung-bulungan ang mga estudyate sa narinig. Parang doon palang sa in-announce ng secretary sila sumaya. Of course—I can't blame them. Even me is thrilled by the thought of that grand ball.
Grand ball means a lot of alcohol. A lot of riots and bunches of thrilling activities! And of course—a lot of mysteries will be revealed! Not to mentioned that everything in that ball are free!
A ghost smile escaped from my lips. Hindi ko na muna aalalahanin ang mga pagbabagong in-announce nila. Basta ako, masaya na ako sa libreng alak na matatamasa ko once that ball set in!
Geez.
Hindi ko na namalayan pa ang mga sumunod na sinabi ni Stan, Zadreth at nung secretary ng dahil sa excitement. Basta next thing I knew, the black boards around the open field are finally revealed.
Doon pala nakatala ang mga magpa-partner sa bawat dorm na binago. Ngayon lang tuloy nag-sink in sa akin na hindi ko na makakasama pa sa isang bubong sina Natasha at Hanna.
That's fine with me. Tapos na rin ako sa kanila. Saka na ako babawi sa ginawa nila kapag napuno na ang pasensya ko. I thought, they're kind. Nasa loob lang pala ang kulo nila. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.
Anyway... nakatala sa bawat black board ang mga listahan ng magsasama-sama sa bawat floor. That means that the black boards around this field are elleven in total.
Limang floors para sa babae at lima rin para sa lalaki. Since hindi karamihan ang mga nakatira sa Death Commission's dorm... Isang black board lang ang nagamit nila.
Nang kumonti na ang mga estudyante na naghahanap ng bagong dorm ay doon nalang ako nakisali sa kanila. Nakakapagtataka nga lang na hindi ko mahanap ang pangalan ko sa girls dorm at boys dorm.
Napa-ismid ako.
Siguro nalagpasan ko lang ang pangalan ko habang nagbabasa kanina. Imposible naman kasing mapunta ako sa Commission's dorm di ba?
So there, I repeatedly checked all the 10 list when suddenly...
A bunch of girls pushed me from behind. Disoriented tuloy akong bumagsak sa damuhan at napatili sa gulat Geez. Ako bayun? That is so embarrasing! Tumili ako—fuck!
Humanda kayo saking mga bruha!
"Happy now, nerd?" Galit na wika ng isang babaeng puno ng hikaw ang mukha sa akin. She seems like the leader of the girls who first messed with me after a week of peace and silence. Ano kayang problema nito?
She's making me confuse. Napaisip tuloy ako. Why am I will going to be happy? Is it because I have an ID already?
"Bakit sa lahat-lahat pa ng mga babaeng nandito... Ikaw pa ang napunta sa room na yon?!" Nanlilisik ang mga matang sigaw niya pa sa akin.
Lumuhod pa nga siya para lang hulihin ang buhok ko at hilahin yon para itayo ako. Nangunyapit ako sa sakit ng dahil sa ginawa niya. Habang ang mga kasama naman niya ay nakahalukipkip lang na pinapanood ako.
Pero siyempre, hindi ako lalaban. Buti nalang at naalala ko pa misyon ko dahil kung hindi, kanina pa siya bumulagta sa tabi. Lahat kasi ng estudyante dito ay nakatingin na sa amin ngayon.
Oh fuck. Another attention seeker.
"A-Ano bang sinasabi mo? I h-have no idea what y-you are talking about!" Inis kong sagot. Nagtangis naman ang panga niya na mas nagpapangit sa kanyang itsura.
She looks like a fucking dog.
"At ngayon sumasagot-sagot ka na, ha?!" She hissed.
Bumaling siya sa mga kasama niya babae para kausapin ang mga ito sandali. After a minute, a girl went to our direction and passed a paper to the woman who's gripping a handful of my hair.
"You see this?" She asked sarcastically and pointed a particular part of the paper.
Dali-dali ko namang binasa ang tinuro niya na ikinalaki ng mga mata ko sa gulat.
Last Floor Of Death Commission's Dorm
President's Room
STAN VERGARA | MIORA LEDGER
Vice President's Room
ZADRERTH KING | CRISANTA NIGHTMARE
Aviera Redfox
Sig. of the Principal:
Stan Vergara
Sig. of the DC President:
Crisostomo Peltran
Sig. of the Ad. Chairman:
To say that I smirked even in the middle of this kind of situation proves how hard headed I am for someone I treasure. It was like I am willing to risk everything. Even my life just so I could find what I seek for. Justice and revenge.
But shit! I'm doomed.
"See? How fucking lucky you are, nerd! Ang dapat sayo ay turuan ng leksyon bago ka man lang tumira doon—" akmang hahambalusin ako ng baril ng babaeng lider ng may isang kamay ang umakbay sa braso ko at hinila ko palayo sa kanya.
Alanganin akong tumingin sa may gawa noon at lihim na napasinghap.
"Is there something wrong with my choices, hmm?" The guy behind me said calmly. Natahimik naman ang mga babae na sumugod sa akin at sabay-sabay na umiling. "Wala naman palang problema. If you have any complain, girls... you can come in my office and tell me about your complaints. So that, we could fix the problem instead of making a scene here."
"Naiintindihan po namin, President Stan." Sagot ng lider. Nakatungo pa ito na para bang hihiyang-hiya sa pagpapahiya sa kanya ni Stan.
"Ganon naman pala, eh. Now get your butts out of here and don't show your faces to me again!" Stan angrily hissed and the group suddenly vanished in front of me in no time.
Nang tuluyan ko na silang hindi makita ay napa-baling ako kay Stan. Nakangiti siya ngayon pero nagmukha lang siyang nakakatakot. So this guy... I need to take him seriously too. Just like Zadreth.
Mukhang may itinatago rin siyang kulo sa katawan.
"Why not fight them, bitch?" He asked to me after he withdraw his arm on my shoulders. I just shrugged then say 'thank you' to him.
Napailing-iling nalang siya saka walang sabi akong nilayasan.
He's also weird, huh?
Hindi man lang niya ako hinayaang tanungin siya kung bakit niya ginawa iyon. Wala sa sariling napangiti ako.
Bakit kaya napaka-prone ko sa mga pinaka kilalang lalaki sa school na ito? Have you noticed that?