CHAPTER SIXTEEN
R e e s e
"Everybody, greet," I ordered my team. "Good morning, sir." The warden just waved at us. Halos dito na yata nakatira itong si sir, double-checking the paperwork and maintaining the harmony. Am I a bad team leader if I don't even know the guy's name? Gosh, sorry.
"Morning, students." The old man approached me. "Oh, Cadet First Lieutenant De Leon, close watch on 21986, alright?" Teegan clears her throat, grinning. Justine, ah, the same thing. "I saw Tristan's report regarding the matter." Yeah, the fake ass report that says everything that happened to Mackenzie was self-inflicted. They can't fool me. I fucking nailed my Special Crime Investigation subject. "Okay, kids. I have to take my rest now. Are you enjoying your stay here?"
"We are, sir. Thank you for asking."
"Great. If you, kids, need anything, just tell me." I nodded, smiling at the main man of the institution. I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Warden. Sabi mo 'yan, ha? Sige. "Today, you'll meet the Falcons. The Sparrows will have their rest. Good luck, Cardinals!"
K e n
"Trouble in paradise?"
"This is the farthest thing from paradise. But hey, maybe this is heaven, 'cause De Leon over there, looks like an angel." I face-palmed, gluing my eyes to the girl. "She says she won't talk to me unless I tell her the truth about what happened. Gusto kong sabihin pero baka ano'ng gawin ni Tristan sa kanya, malapit pa naman sila ni Mallory. Malakas ang andar ng Tenyente ko, I love it."
"Ah, kaya may LQ kayo." Pumalatak si Hailee sabay inom ng tubig. Water mukbang, nagpapapayat daw siya, eh. Ang sexy na nga nitong babaeng 'to. "Sabihin mo na kaya? Bakit ba kasi?"
"Teegan told me not to."
"'Cause she might kill Mallory and her minions in their sleep para sa'yo? Ang sweet naman ni Tenyente." Hailee nudged me, kinking her eyebrows. "No worries. You heard the guy, Reese would still be guarding you." I was put on suicide watch, that's why. "You're her special duty."
"I'll take it. It's the closest thing to a pre-sex date. Aarte pa ba ako?"
"Lucky you."
"Wait. I thought she was gonna be stuck in the admin doing paperwork?" I can recall Butler telling me that. It broke my heart when I heard it. "Do you have something to do with it? Umamin ka."
"Me? Oh, no." Hailee placed her hand on top of her chest. "Of course, not." I doubt it, with all those giggles and shit. "New team, new rules," The lady officer says to me. "Duh?"
"Mhmm, says you."
"And you know how meticulous JO Ortega is. She doesn't trust anyone's work but her own. She triple checks every fucking thing." We saw the woman in her forties that we were talking about, with her usual cup of coffee. Penelope Ortega just nodded when she saw us smiling at her, though, she looked skeptical when I did. I must've forgotten that I am a detainee at hindi estudyanteng nakatambay sa mall. "You do like this girl, don't you?"
"I do. A lot."
"Well, I gotta go meet your girlfriend now," Sabi nito sa akin pagtingin niya sa kanyang relo. "Laters, Ken!"
"Hailee, thank you."
"I know some JO's here treat all of you like trash, my friend," JO Andres smiles at me. "...able to give you a little peace of mind won't hurt." With that, I was fully convinced that there are still good people in the world. Humans need more Hailee's and less of Tristan Butler. Don't forget Mallory's clan. What a waste of space.
"You are the sweetest, Andres." I wanted to hug her but I couldn't. "Means a lot. Really."
"I know, Ken. Just please, don't have sex on my watch."
"Hah! You got it."
R e e s e
There are two sets of teams from the officers, the Sparrows, and Falcons. Here, we gained the name Cardinals. Butler is not present. No one will be snooping up my ass for at least two weeks. Thank God for that. My friends are the only people here that can possibly give up some points for us regarding disobedience. Lalo na si Teegan, juslord. Apparently, my team lost a lot of those points because of me and whatever it is that I have for Mackenzie. Pahamak.
"Heads up, new meat approaching. Ooh, me likey." Oh, no, she's out? Teegan nudged me a little. "What are you looking at, De Leon?" The ebony-skinned girl frowned at the Tongan's joke. Jealousy is in the air.
"Good morning, interns." The alpha team answered back. "Since it's visitation day, we are open, until four in the afternoon." JO Andres says, the patches were a giveaway. It has her name on it. "We will open our gates at exactly one o'clock. You, mister, what's your name? Ikaw."
"Uh, Abellera, Griffith James?"
"Are you asking me?" Justine giggled. And aww, Griffith blushed. The guy didn't outgrow her admiration for Juju like he hoped he would. "You, with the pretty eyes, what's your name?"
"De Leon, Renesmee Robin, ma'am," I spoke without eye contact. No verifying of superiors. I always get compliments on my eyes and I really feel good about it. However, I still find brown eyes a lot more beautiful. Like Mackenzie's.
"No offense, Abellera, but that's how you answer an officer." JO Andres clicks her tongue. "She's a lot more Daddy than you, brother."
"Why do people say no offense before they offend you?" The jail officer at the institution's grunted a little upon hearing Griffith whisper to Chiro. I gave intern Abellera an apologetic look. "Okay lang, Reese. Thanks."
"Okay, Mr. I'm offended, who do you wanna pair up with?" The boys all turned to look at Rivera. I saw Teegan pouting in my peripheral vision. "Oh, okay. What's your name, baby girl?"
"Rivera, Justine, ma'am."
"Okay, Justine, both you and glasses will do the contraband checking." Griffith and Juju nodded, listening to the JO's instruction. "Cellphones are not allowed, all of you know that, for sure. Basic."
The lady officer motioned for interns Inoue and Sotto to get the keys for the main gate. Officer cutie showed the two what keys were used for the first and second barrier. "Lose this and you will both lose your balls by the end of the day, kaya ingatan niyo. You got that?"
Both of the boys had their serious faces on when they answered, "Yes, ma'am."
"And then one of you will help me do the body checking. Let's say, ah, Mackenzie's girl." I looked around, my heart hammering fast. Thank God, no officer was there to hear her say that. "Don't worry, she won't get jealous," She adds up, causing everyone to laugh. "Or d'you want to be the one who will guard those detention prisoners on the lounge?"
"Um, nando'n po ba si Ken-Ken?" Everyone turned to look at me. "I mean, kahit saan po, ma'am. Pwede po ako."
"Good."
"Sorry po, ma'am."
"If by chance, someone will come and see her, she will be there, De Leon." Andres tells me, but then she added, "Though, she doesn't get many visitors, unlike the others here. Share lang sila palagi nung dalang lunch ng mga bisita ni Jamie."
"Okay, then, may I take that post, JO Andres? I swear I will not just focus on her. I'll do my j-" The officer, of the same height as mine, stopped me from talking. "Yes, I talk too much. This is Mackenzie's doing. Yeah, okay."
"Speaking of the devil," I swear to God, I saw JO Andres let out a huge grin. "Montefalco, come here! Bilis."
"Are you gonna make fun of her? Please, don't."
"Uh, no. Calm down, you'll thank me later, sweety." Jesus Christ, Montefalco smells nice. Messy hair, raspy voice, that face, I can't fucking take it. "I know your school thought you how to do stuff, but I need to make sure you know what you're doing." She whispered something to Mackenzie. Calm down, Robin. Both of them smiled before looking at me. "We don't wanna violate anyone else's rights, yeah?"
"McBaby..." I choose to ignore her. Saan na naman galing ang nickname na 'yon? I'm still mad at her for not being truthful about why was she sent to the hospital for days. "Ladies..." Both of my friends gave her a warm smile. They consider Mackenzie as part of our circle and even Jamie.
"We will demonstrate." The Latina stood in the middle, in front of Hailee Andres. "I need a volunteer. Any taker?" I didn't know that I was the only one who didn't step back. "Yes, please. De Leon, stand next to Montefalco over here." The officer stood in the middle of us. "That's it, thank you." She made Mackenzie turn her back to me, leaving her neck exposed. "Now, touch her butt."
"The what po, ma'am?"
"My ass, babe. She's telling you to squeeze my ass." Walang'ya, true ba? Tinapik-tapik at pinagpag pa ang suot. Halatang nahirapan pa siyang gawin dahil sa bugbog pero landi pa din talaga ang inuna, eh. "Come on, baby. Don't be shy now."
K e n
"M-me? What? No, Teegan!" That was the cutest reaction I've seen from her. She looks like a kid who got trapped into something, calling out for her mother. In her case, Teegan was the mom. "Teegan, please. Uy, Justine."
"Renesmee Robin..."
"Justine, can you not-"
"Montefalco, raise both of your hands." I guess it was too late for her to resist. Hailee Andres, grabbed her by the hand and made her cup my behind. "De Leon, press the butt-cheeks lightly." And there goes Reese, trembling. "Slowly lang, Tenyente. We have to make sure na walang makalusot na contraband, okay?" She nods, still staring at my humps. "If you're good with it, we can now proceed to the upper part of the checking."
"Up, ah, upper? You mean boobies?" Hirap na hirap magpigil ng tawa ang mga kaibigan nito. "You mean grope them... with respect?"
"Easy there, Lion." I guess she was gonna say tiger, but then she changed her mind when she remembered the intern's name. "We can only touch the back and the sides. Take it slow, alright?"
"Yeah, De Leon. Slowly, baby."
"Juju..." There was a tremor in her voice. She's not comfortable, I think. Or is she just shy? I'm not sure at the moment. "Rivera, get me out of here."
"You'll be fine, Reese. You're doing good, darling."
She looks at me shyly. "But, Juju..." Without further ado, I signaled Hailee to go on with the next thing. "Oh, my God." She is the cutest thing ever. Hailee ordered her to check my bra, in plain view. But then, later on, pushed Reese to rub my back slowly, tracing my undergarment with her index and middle finger. "Ma'am, please don't do that again. Mackenzie's tri-"
"Owwkaay!" Teegan half-shouted. She must have seen how nervous and uncomfortable Reese was. "I think she's good, Ken. Thank you so much, Cheeseball. Now, we know what to do." Hailee looks at me questionably. "Uh, ma'am, I think it's time for lunch."
My friend glances at her watch. "Oh, yeah. Sorry 'bout that." She can't help to look at Reese, who's been staring at the floor for quite a while now. "Well, you heard the girl. We'll begin in an hour. Go and grab your lunch first."
Teegan draped her arms on Reese's shoulder. I was walking behind the three until Hailee kept me from catching up to them. "If you're going to ask me what's wrong with her, I don't have an idea."
"Yeah, I know. Baka conscious lang talaga siya. Pinapanood namin kayo, eh," Hailee says to me. Jamie joined the small talk, eating her sandwich. "Wait, is that the McWich, Jamie?"
"The what now?"
"Oh, the sandwich Reese made this morning. Teeg gave me some," Jamie responded, enjoying her food. "Here, have a taste, Hailee." JO Andres had another bite. "Good, right? Sarap." I opened my mouth, thinking that Jamie would share the food. "Nope, no McWich for you. Reese told me not to give you."
"What? Why?!"
"Penge pa nga, Jamie."
Inabot ni Jamie kay Hailee ang pagkain. "I was just following orders from your wife." Hailee burst into laughter. I guess these two bonded with the rest of the group already. They know something that I don't. Buti pa sila, may gano'n. "Eat your usual lunch, Ken. No McWich until Daddy said so. Naiintindihan?"
🎶 88 Rising feat. NIKI, Indigo
"Hala, sige, lamon." Jamie and I sat on the lounge with Hailee fixing her belt behind us. Reese was smiling again; I caught her looking at me. "'Di bale na, mas nakakabusog siyang tignan." She looked away once I smiled back at her. "Ang yummy ni Tenyente, nakakabaliw."
"Hanggang tingin ka na lang ba, 'kosa?"
"I swear to God, I would get more than just her," Oops, stress sa part na 'to para intense, "...sandwich." It was a joke, but deep within me, I know I wanted it to happen. So bad. The only question is how? Oh, I know. "Ah, Hailee, I'd like to discuss something with you."