Chapter 68: Dead
Habang nagbibihis ako ay wala ako sa aking sarili. Iniisip ko yung ginagawa kanina ni Prof Leonsio. Why was he inspecting the dead bodies? Nakakakilabot isipin. My thoughts then came to Dark. I'm worried of him. He must've been blaming himself for the deaths.
Yes, he also kills. He killed someone for me. Pero pumapatay lang siya 'pag kailangan. If someone harms us, that's when he takes action. But these lives that were lost overnight, he might be blaming himself right now just like what Julia said.
I badly wanted to comfort him. I want to hug him and say that he doesn't need to blame himself for what happened. But maybe Julia's right. I need to give him space. Kailangan niyang mapag-isa.
Pero hindi ako mapakali. I badly want to see him right now. Lubos ang pag-aalala ko sa kanya. I need to be with him in times like this.
Nagpaalam muna ako kina Julia bago umalis. Pumunta ako sa dorm ni Dark at umaasa akong nasa loob siya. Pero wala. There's no sign of him. Hindi pa siya nakakabalik based on the coldness of the room. Napabuntong-hininga ako. I need to find him.
Mabilisan akong naglakad at pumunta sa opisina niya. There he was, sitting with a glass of scotch in his hand.
Tumitibok ng malakas ang puso ko habang pinagmamasdan ang kabuuan ng kanyang opisina. It feels different now. Ngayon na mas kilala ko na si Dark bilang isang presidente at sa kanya ang opisinang 'to, the atmosphere here seems different. Hindi ko mawari kung bakit ganito pero mas na-appreciate ko ang lugar na 'to. This is where he run errands as the president.
Lumapit ako sa kanya at umupo sa upuan na nasa harapan ng desk niya. There was no expression on his face although he saw me. Nilagok niya ang natitirang scotch at naglagay pa siya ulit.
"Dark, enough of this..." Mahina kong sabi at kinuha mula sa kamay niya ang glass at nilagay sa tabi. I then held his hands.
"Maraming namatay, Zaya. I'm not doing enough." May bahid ng panlulumo sa boses niya.
"Don't say that, Dark. You are doing your best. Maswerte nga ang lahat ng estudyante dahil nandito ka. You are here to set us all free. Ikaw ang pag-asa nila."
"All the students who died, they didn't deserve it."
"No one deserves to die except all the cruel people in here, Dark."
"I'm not doing enough, Zaya."
"Let's say you haven't done enough yet but you are in the process, Dark. You are in the process of setting us all free. You are the best president this school could ever have."
He now looked straight into my eyes. "Thank you, baby... This is another reason why I love you. You make me calm. I love how you comfort me."
He leaned in and kissed me on the lips.
"I'm also to blame, you know. You can't take an action because I distract you." Sabi ko sa kanya pagkatapos ng halik.
"Yeah, that's true. But at the same time you're the one who keeps me going."
I smiled and he kissed me again.
"Dark, always keep in mind that you're doing your best, okay?"
He just nodded.
*****
Thank goodness it went well. And I have never seen Dark that weak before. I always see him as someone so cold and serious. But each has a weak spot. And he showed it to me. At dadamayan ko siya sa lahat-lahat. He always protected me and I would be willing to do anything for him.
Nagpaiwan siya sa opisina niya. He said he needs to think of a plan. He said he will brainstorm a plan on how to set us all free. Hanga ako sa determinasyon ni Dark. Sabi ko sa kanya, magpahinga muna siya pero sinabi niya na may sapat na siyang pahinga.
Habang naglalakad ako, at parang wala sa sarili dahil sa kakaisip kay Dark, natauhan ako ng may komusyong narinig. Agad ko ring nakitang nagtitipon-tipon ang mga estudyante. What is it this time?
Agad naman akong lumapit sa kung saan nagsitipon ang mga tao. Nagtitipon-tipon sila sa isang dorm. What the... kung may namatay man na estudyante, wala silang pakialam dahil sanay na. Pero ngayon, bakit nagtitipon-tipon sila? Hindi ordinaryong estudyante ang namatay kung ganon?
Napatakip naman ako sa aking bibig ng makita ang walang buhay na si Mrs. Cassandra Suldivar. May laslas sa leeg niya. May mga saksak rin siya sa tiyan. There was blood stains on her clothes. Bago ko pa siya matignan ng maayos ay tinakpan na ng kumot ang buo niyang katawan at inilayo na siya ng mga naka-cloak.
I can't help but gasp at what I saw. Nanginginig ang buong kalamnan ko. Who could've killed her? Ang dami kong tanong ngayon pero hindi ko mahanap ang mga sagot. It took me a few moments to recover. Isa-isa na ring nagsi-alisan ang mga nakiusyoso.
"K-Kuya, a-anong nangyari kay Prof?" Nauutal kong tanong sa isang lalakeng paalis na.
"Natagpuan na lang siya diyan sa loob at nakahandusay. May laslas sa leeg ang daming saksak. Ilang oras pa bago siya matagpuan." Sagot naman nito at umalis na.
Who could've killed her? She is a really kind professor! I remember how kind she was to me... Pero bakit? Bakit siya pinatay? Gusto kong sabunutan ang sarili ko! I'm damn frustrated!
Some idea then popped up on my mind. Sabi ng lalake kanina, ilang oras pa bago siya matagpuan... Hindi kaya ang may pakana ng sunog nung madaling araw ang siyang pumatay sa kanya? I want to know the truth this instant!
I need to find some witness. Isang saksi sa nangyaring pagsunog sa mga bulaklak. Pero paano? Maraming estudyante dito. Hindi ko naman pwedeng isa-isahin sa dami nila.
Ako'y nanlulumo sa pagkawala ni Mrs. Suldivar. Wala ako sa sariling naglalakad pabalik sa dorm namin ni Julia. It all came so fast... the burning of the flowers and the death of Mrs. Cassandra Suldivar.
Nang makapasok na sa dorm, wala pa rin ako sa sarili.
"Zee, ayos ka lang?" Nag-aalala namang tanong ni Julia.
"Mrs. Suldivar is dead,"
"What? Oh gosh..." Hindi makapaniwalang sabi ni Julia. "Anong nangyari sa kanya? Bakit siya namatay?"
"Someone killed her and no one knows who. May laslas siya sa leeg at may mga saksak sa tiyan. Natagpuan siya sa dorm niya. Dead on arrival."
"Fucking shit," Ani Julia.
"I have a lot to figure out right now. Kailangan kong malaman kung sino ang nagsunog sa mga bulaklak at kung sino ang gumawa nun kay Mrs. Suldivar." At kung ano rin ang tinatago ni Prof Leonsio.
"Zee, hindi kita pipigilan sa gusto mo. All I want is that you're safe. Mag-ingat ka sa bawat galaw mo. Maraming nagmamasid nang hindi mo lang nalalaman."
"I'll take note of that, Juls. And please, don't tell Dark. I'll tell him on my own."
"Okay,"
The first step, kahit ayoko mang kumausap sa mga kaklase ko, kailangan. I need to ask each of them if they saw who burned the poisonous flowers. Kahit isang maliit na detalye lang, makakatulong na. But I hope my brain cells can take every small detail. The clearer detail, the better.
*****
It's already Monday and I have class today. I haven't heard of Dark after our last meeting in his office yesterday. And I also don't want to bug him. I know he's busy running errands and I don't want to be a distraction. Even though I'm his girlfriend, I'm not gonna be clingy. I'm not the clingy type and the thought of me being clingy, makes me cringe.
Ano ang gagawin namin ngayon? May magiging substitute teacher ba kami? If so, sino? Marami akong iniisip. Who could've killed Mrs. Suldivar? And who burned the gumamela flowers? This is a pretty big deal to me.
Nang lumabas na kami ni Julia mula sa dorm, namataan namin si Godwin na nagj-jog papunta sa'min.
Hininingal siyang nagsalita ng makaabot sa'min. "Hey, I checked our new substitute English teacher."
Ang English teacher kasi nina Godwin ay si Mrs. Suldivar din at ngayong wala na siya, may magiging substitute nga.
Julia smiled. "Really? Sino at anong room?"
"Si Prof Leonsio,"
Parang nagdilim naman ang paningin ko. What the heck? Why is he the substitute English teacher? He's a teacher in Calculus! And he doesn't have any classes in the morning! Hapon lahat ng klase niya!
"Why him? He's the teacher in Calculus, right?"
"He's also an English Major," Sagot naman ni Godwin.
"Zee, okay ka lang? You're spacing out again."
I then came back to reality. "Y-Yes, o-oo. I'm fine. Nakakapagtaka lang at bakit si Prof Leonsio ang substitute."
"Well, I don't know about that. Maybe there's no one who can be the substitute?" Ani Godwin.
Ang daming mga professors rito since ang dami ring mga estudyante. Kulang ba ang mga guro sa paaralan na 'to na may English degree?
"So, should Zaya and I proceed to his classroom? Or to Mrs. Suldivar's?"
"Sa classroom na ni Prof Leonsio,"
"Thanks, G!" Julia said and kissed Godwin on the cheek. Nagulat naman kami ni Godwin doon pero mahina na lang akong natawa. Kinilig kasi yung loko.
After exchanging goodbyes with Godwin, we proceeded to Prof Leonsio's classroom. Naguguluhan pa rin ako. Sa lahat ng mga pwedeng maging substitute, ba't siya pa?
I admit it, I hate him now. He's creepy as fuck, alright. Yes, he's intelligent, but it doesn't change the fact that he's a creep. And there's something fishy about him. And I need to find out what he's hiding...Maybe this is also a sign? We now have two classes under him and this is a chance to observe him. Ma-oobserbahan ko ang bawat kilos at galaw niya. But he's wise. Syempre hindi ganon kadali. He'll act normal in front of us, students, and will do suspicious things behind our backs.
When we finally reached his classroom, we then went inside. Prof Leonsio is sitting on his chair and his eyes are on a book he's reading. Nakapatong ito sa desk niya.
"Good morning, Prof!" Maligayang sabi ni Julia. Ako naman, diretso lang ang lakad at hindi man lang nagsalita.
I then caught his attention because of what I did. Tinignan niya ako saglit bago magsalita. "Good morning, Miss Syracuse."
Nang makaupo na ako sa upuan ko, agad naman akong kinalabit ni Julia. "What was that? Are you on your period?"
Nababagot akong tumingin sa kanya. "Wala akong gana sa klase niya,"
"Oh come on, Zee, he's really good at English. Although he's good at Calculus, he's also good at English. I can't wait!"
Nabigla naman ako kay Julia. What the heck, para siyang fan ni Prof Leonsio sa inaasta niya!
"Don't you find him weird, Juls?" I whispered to her.
"Weird? Well, he seems to be an introvert but the way he teaches, I like it. He's really good at English too. He speaks fluently and I can't wait for him to teach."
Kung alam mo lang, Juls... Kung alam mo lang ang ginagawa niya. I'm in the process of unraveling the truth about his suspicious acts.
Yeah, Prof Leonsio is fluent in English and we knew it because of the way he talks when he teaches us in Calculus and now, he's also gonna be our English teacher. But even though he's intelligent and all that, I'm sure he's hiding something. At 'yun na nga, isa sa mga pruweba ay ang stamp na ginagamit niya. It smells like human blood!
At nakakapagtaka lang, he was never a teacher in English! He's only teaching Calculus and now he also replaced Mrs. Suldivar! Inatasan ba siya na maging substitute o nag-volunteer? Damn, I need to know the whole story!
It took a few minutes more for us to be completed in the room.
Prof then stood up and he took off his glasses. "Good morning, students. I know some of you might be confused on why you are all here... I assume that you all have heard about Mrs. Cassandra Suldivar's death. She was murdered in her apartment by God knows who. Nakakapagtaka nga, eh. Why would someone kill her? She's a really good English teacher."
I couldn't even feel the sympathy from him. He acts cool. I want to scoff. Can't he just go straight to the point? Ang dami pa niyang sinasabi.
Napailing-iling pa siya. "Even the teachers aren't exempt, huh? Pati mga guro pala, papatayin... Anyways, I'm your new English teacher. I know, I know, nakakagulat. I'm a Calculus teacher and now I'm here, and I'm gonna be an English teacher, as well. You see, I'm also an English major. Not that I'm bragging about it but it's the truth."
I want to scoff! He's literally showing off! Cut the crap, Leonsio!
"So, I'll be meeting you twice a day now. I'm your English and Calculus teacher starting today... Do you have any questions?"
Someone raised his hand.
"Yes?" Prof said and he motioned my classmate to stand up.
"Are you still gonna be strict like you are in Calculus class, Sir?"
"Yes, of course. I won't be changing anything. I'm still gonna be me." He replied with a grin. "Further questions?"
I raised my hand. Napatingin naman ang lahat sa'kin.
"Yes, Miss... Dawnt? Dawnt, right?"
"Yes, Prof." I answered with no emotion.
"What's your question?"
"How did you end up to be the substitute teacher? Hindi naman siguro kulang ang paaralan na 'to sa English majors? Not that I'm complaining but I'm just curious." Diretsahan at seryoso kong sabi.
May mga napatango-tango naman.
I saw how he smirked. "Good question, Miss. Well to be honest, I volunteered."
"Prof, I think you have a tough schedule in teaching Calculus but why did you volunteer?" Tanong ko pa. I might get something useful.
He smirked again. "Well, I don't have a tight schedule. I don't have class every morning so it means I'm free and besides, it would be nice if I apply my knowledge in English literature to all of you."
"I see," I then gave a smile before I sat on my chair. But of course, the smile I gave was fake. I wouldn't give him a genuine smile since he doesn't deserve it.
"You know what, class, you should set Miss Dawnt right here, as an example. She's very confident in asking questions. You should too. Don't be scared of me, I won't bite because of simple questions..." He said with a smirk, glancing at me for a moment, and he then diverted his attention to the others.
Parang may kung ano sa sinabi niya na hindi ko mawari... Who are you exactly, Prof?
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