Chapter 12: Montello High
"There's no way that I'm watching an annoying pest voluntarily and whole-heartedly!"
I already knew she was going to protest my proposal. But I didn't think there was anyone else that I could trust with this mission.
"It's not like you're going to do this for the rest of your life." I pushed but she still looked like she'd rather eat worms than heed my request.
"If given a chance, I'd willingly rather be her killer and now you want me to watch her? Do I look like some guardian angel?" Naiinis na tanong ni Forest.
I had decided that I couldn't do this mission during the day. I had duties at Arturia University. My dad was not always at the school. Being Director Dresmond Arturia was not very easy kung kaya't tinutulungan ko sya sa pamamahala ng eskuwelahan. Kailangan kong mapanatili ang kaayusan nito habang inaasikaso niya ang ibang mga bagay. He was the other side of the Freniere Mafia. He was the one handling all the legal assets and connections of the underground organization.
Which was why I needed Forest for this. Getting permission from the mafia leaders to get Forest as back-up should be easy enough since—like Tres said—Summer Leondale was pretty important to the mafia now. So I had to use a different type of persuasion.
"Tell me what you want and I will give it to you." Agad na nagbago ang ekspresyon ng mukha ni Forest sa sinabi ko. She looked like a child who discovered Santa was coming on Christmas.
"Anything?" Nakangiti niyang tanong. I tried to read if there was anything malicious in her smile but I got nothing. She looked innocently harmless enough, which I knew all too well wasn't true.
"Anything," pagkumpirma ko.
"Well, build a chapel inside Montello High," sagot niya. Kumunot ang noo ko. I was not honestly sure what to expect but this request? Talk about oddball.
"A chapel in a place full of gangsters?" I repeated. She was probably just messing with me. "You're going to send the priest that's going to be assigned at that school in hell instead."
"The point is, I want a place I can use while watching our subject," sagot niya. Huh? What was up with this girl and churches? She liked being ferried to old churches and now she wanted to build a new one? But I didn't say any of that to her.
"It will take time to build it."
Nagkibit lang sya ng balikat. "It's okay," aniya.
I didn't really get what's going on with her mind pero pumayag ako sa gusto niya at sa huli ay nakumbinsi ko rin sya na tulungan ako sa aking misyon. I was still not happy with this mission even though the mafia had stressed how important this mission was.
And maybe I understand the mafia. They could never lose another woman important to the Freniere again. They already lost enough and they shouldn't take chances. Nasaksihan ko kung gaano tila nanghina ang mga Freniere noong nawala si Alexandria. At naramdaman ko rin ang bigat niyon.
Ipinagpatuloy ko ang mga normal kong ginagawa sa Arturia University nung araw na iyon habang nangako si Forest na magbabantay sa paligid ng Montello High. I trust her when it comes to guarding a target from a distance. Nakapagtataka man subalit kahit ilang kilometro ang layo niya mula sa lugar ay tila alam niya ang bawat kilos ng mga tao rito. Well, she wouldn't be a Reaper if she was just an ordinary girl.
Matapos ang lahat ng mga klase ko ay dumiretso na ako sa gym upang mag-paalam sa coach. Everything here in Arturia was in order. I didn't like messy and chaotic places. Chaos ruins all the harmony in the surrounding. Subalit nang gabing iyon ay tila nag-iba ang ikot ng mundo at nagbibiro ang tadhana sapagkat iniharap nito sa akin ang 'messy' at 'chaotic' na lugar kong sinasabi. Ang lugar kung nasaan ngayon si Forest at nagbabantay: Montello High.
Mula sa dulo ng Nightwoods ay ipinasok ko ang kotse at huminto sa kalagitnaan noon. This place was still as cold as when I first ran here to get someone out.
"Wow! How did you know that I'm here?" Narinig kong wika ni Forest mula sa itaas ng mga puno doon. I looked up and saw her climbed down like a cat from the tree.
"There's no way that you'll be watching from the entrance. So I took the back way. But Forest, you don't have to come to this place," sagot ko.
Ngumiti lang sya habang papalapit sa akin at saka sumandal sa sasakyan ko. "I don't feel what I know you are feeling towards this place," wika niya.
Matiim ko syang tiningnan upang hanapin ang katotohanan sa kanyang sinabi. It was very easy to read mischief through Forest. But whenever she gets serious, I could only see a black, endless mirror. I gave up on reading her.
"This was where the young Reaper was killed," tahimik na pahayag ko. Hindi sya sumagot at nanatiling nakatingin lang sa itaas. Nang hindi pa rin sya kumilos ay muli akong nagsalita. "I'll go in. You can leave now, Forest," wika ko.
Tumingin sya sa akin and I saw a glimpse of emotion in her eyes. It was gone too soon, though. Maybe it was just a glimpse of a ghost.
"I'll sleep on top of your car first. I know you got blankets inside." Muli sana akong magsasalita upang kumbinsihin siyang umuwi na lang subalit pinutol niya iyon at sinabing, "I'll be gone in an hour. Don't worry about your car."
I looked at the car and then to her. It was not just about the car, though. I just really didn't like the Nightwoods. Nagkibit-balikat na lang ako at saka naglakad papunta sa Montello High.
Napahinto ako nang ilang metro ang layo mula sa bukana ng eskwelahan. It was 7:00 in the evening and yet everyone seemed to be alive and outside, on the school yard. There were groups of students lying on the ground and... rapping? Some of them were just passing by. Some were night jogging. It looked cluttered compared to the clean lines of Arturia campus. It was not exactly messy or chaotic, but it felt so unorganized. I got a sudden itch to clean. Hindi ko alam kung muli akong hahakbang palabas ng Nightwoods o babalik sa kotse at kakalimutan ang misyon. Sa huli ay nanaig ang kailangan kong gawin kung kaya't nagpatuloy ako sa paglalakad.
I was about to just stay in the dark subalit natanaw ko sa parking lot ang isang Hummer. I knew whose car that was. Only he would dare show off in a way that would assert his superiority. I decided to let him know of my presence by going to the Administrator's Office.
I made a scene by coming out of the Nightwoods. Reminded me of slow-motion movements in movies. I managed to get everyone's attention and they all stared openly at me. I didn't think they remembered me as one of the Reapers who paid Montello High a visit last Christmas Day dahil sobrang bilis ng mga pangyayari. I ignored them and just continued walking. Malapit na ako sa entrance ng main building nang tatlong lalaking estudyante ang humarang sa daraanan ko.
"Are you a transferee, Miss?" Tanong ng isa.
"Kung transferee sya, imposibleng hindi umikot ang pangalan niya sa loob ng eskuwelahan," another one remarked. "Sa hitsura pa lang—" he paused to leer at me from head to toe, "–she's definitely going to get attention."
I looked at them blankly. I didn't always get this kind of attention since Arturia was an all-girls school. On the rare occasion that I didn't like how a guy looks at me, I teach them a lesson. There were many ways to crush a boy's ego that wouldn't need to end with a murder.
"Bakit hindi ka sumasagot, ha?" Said the second one and then he tried to touch me. I blocked his arm and twisted it, trying not to break his bones. Napaurong naman ang dalawa niyang kasama habang hindi maipinta ang mukha niya sa sakit.
"Where is the school director?" Tanong ko.
Atubili at dumadaing niyang inangat ang isang kamay at itinuro ang isang direction. Agad ko siyang binitawan at itinulak palayo. He stumbled before regaining his balance, clutching his hurt arm close to his chest.
"Where is Summer Leondale?" Muli kong tanong. Nagkatinginan sila at saka itinuro ang girl's dormitory. Agad ko silang tinalikuran at saka naglakad sa unang direksyong itinuro nila. I stopped at a big door. No need to guess who was inside this office. I was about to knock when I heard a girl's laughter. Of course. Huminga ako nang malalim at saka kumatok.
"Come in," wika ng baritonong tinig.
Atubili kong binuksan ang pinto at saka tumambad sa akin ang sitwasyon. Sebastian Freniere was on his chair while a woman was lying on his desk in a very... compromising position. Honestly, every single time with this guy sullies my purity and morality. The woman was wearing very little—only her under garments, actually—while Tres was still wearing his coat and tie. Was she giving him a show? I averted my eyes, giving nothing away. It would not be a good idea to show any reaction.
"You shouldn't have said, Come in," wika ko habang nakatingin sa ibang direksyon.
"Well, I thought it's the next girl in line," sagot niya.
Nanatiling blangko ang ekspresyon at boses ko. "There was no line outside." Mukhang walang balak umalis ang babae sa pagkakahiga sa desk dahil hinila pa nito si Tres palapit sa kanya.
"Oh, so you're the last. Sorry, but I don't think you are qualified for the role," wika niya at saka hinawakan sa bewang ang babae.
It was hard talk to him in this kind of situation. I'd rather much face guns and bombs. "I'm here for the mission. You can go back to the Freniere Mansion while I look over Montello High," seryoso kong sabi.
"Well—" Hindi naituloy ni Tres ang sasabihin niya dahil kinuha ng babae ang kanyang mga labi. I pulled my gun out and walk towards them. I pointed the gun on one of her breasts and let the cold of its mouth touch her skin.
"How about learning some manners when two adults are talking?" Nagbabanta kong sabi at tila nahintakutan siyang tumakbo palabas ng office.
Tres smirked while looking at me. "Since you chased away my entertainment, you should replace her. You're supposed to lie here on my desk, naked," aniya.
What I should probably do was slap him with a sexual harassment lawsuit but that would mean that my father would have to deal with the legalities of that case. I'd hate to cause my Dad more grief.
"Sorry, I am not qualified for the role," I said instead, full of mockery, repeating what he said to me earlier.
His jaw twitched and for a while. I tensed, waiting for the kind of cruelty na ibinibigay nya sa akin whenever we were together. But after a second, he just shrugged at saka pinaikot ang swivel chair na tila hinihintay ang sunod kong sasabihin.
"If you're going stay here in the evening, why didn't you just assign the Leondale mission to yourself?" Tanong ko.
He looked at me and said, "I'm busy tracing the traitor," kaswal niyang sagot.
"He's not here," seryoso kong wika.
"How do you know that?" Natigilan ako sa pagbabalik-tanong niya. If I wasn't careful, he was going to find out that I had something to do with Ethan Montreal's disappearance. That would burn my plan to the ground.
"It's pretty obvious," tangi ko na lang nasabi, feigning nonchalance and disinterest in the topic.
"He has friends here. Pwedeng isa sa kanila ang nagtatago sa kanya."
I raised an eyebrow in question. "Not after what he did against the school. He betrayed them," I pointed out.
Pinihit muli ni Tres ang kaniyang upuan paharap sa akin. "You should never underestimate anyone from Montello High," wika niya at saka tumayo mula sa kanyang kinauupuan. Dire-diretso siyang naglakad palabas ng opisina.
I just watched him as he disappeared from the door.
"I would never have been a Reaper if I underestimated anyone," mahina kong sabi.