LORELEI

NOW THAT everyone was done with our art project, Professor Morayta asked us to gather around him. On his cue, inilabas ng mga execom member ang ilang gamit. May folded tents, sleeping bags, foldable tables and chairs, headlamps, toolboxes at iba pang camping items.

Our instructor waited for the students to clear the area. "I will give each team 500 points. Ito ang magiging currency n'yo sa team building na 'to. Now in front of you are the equipment and items you can use for camping. You can spend all 500 points to buy everything you need."

Namigay ng camping bag na may kasamang papel ang mga taga-execom sa bawat team leader. When I got mine, dali-daling lumapit sa akin sina Jamie at Alistair para tingnan ang nakasulat. Loki and Luthor did not bother to come any closer. In my hand was a list of camping items with their corresponding prices.

"What you're gonna do is put a check on the items that you wanna buy," Professor Morayta instructed. "Once you're done, i-submit n'yo sa akin ang inyong listahan. Please take note that the supplies are limited kaya paunahan kung aling team ang unang makakukuha. You also cannot bring your own bags and items, except for clothes, throughout the activity."

"What?" bulalas ni Jamie. Muli na naman niyang nakuha ang atensyon ng mga nakapaligid sa kanya. She shrank in her seat as she muttered, "Ang dami ko pa namang dinalang essentials tapos 'di ko rin pala magagamit? Paano na ang skin care routine ko?"

"Kung may reklamo ka, pwede mong i-raise kay sir," tugon ko. Kahit ako, may dala ring essentials. Kahit ako, may sinusundan ding skin care routine. But maybe it would not hurt so much kung isang araw ang mami-miss namin.

"Huwag na. Baka mapahiya lang ako."

Walang mangyayari kung ibubulong niya sa akin ang mga hinaing niya. Only Professor Morayta could change the rules.

"Do you have any questions?"

"Sir?" Jamie raised her hand, waving it until the instructor recognized her. "Kailan ho mag-start at mag-end ang camping?" Sunod siyang humarap sa akin sabay bulong, "We need to know kung ilang oras tayong magtitiis sa labas. Ayaw ko talagang nami-miss ang routine ko."

"The camping will start at noon today and will end at snoon tomorrow," Professor Morayta answered. "Kaya isipin n'yo nang maigi kung ano-anong items ang kailangan n'yong bilhin para maka-survive sa loob ng 24 hours."

Muli akong napatingin sa aming listahan. We could not buy every item so we had to carefully choose which items would be essential for us. Wala dapat kaming masayang na points para sa isang bagay na hindi namin kakailanganin.

Sunod na nagtaas ng kamay ang team leader ng Robotics Club. "We've noticed that some toiletries are available in the list. Meron bang lugar sa camping site kung saan pwede kaming maligo, umihi o dumumi?"

Good question. That's one of my concerns as well sa ganitong camping trip. We would be staying outdoors for 24 hours. Maliban sa tawag ng kalikasan, malamang marumihan kami lalo na kapag nagkapisikal kami sa agawan ng flags. Would they let us in this cabin to take a bath? I don't think so.

"May tatlong portable toilets with shower sa camping site," sagot ni Professor Morayta. "I can't tell you exactly where. You have to buy a map to know the location. Taking control of a portalet can give you an advantage."

What a relief. But wait a minute. May tatlo raw na portalet habang may apat na teams. Mukhang may isang grupo na mamalasin kapag naunahan sa isang portalet. I hope we would not be that team.

"You may now start choosing from that list."

Naglupong kaming tatlo nina Jamie at Alistair. Kami na naman ang nag-e-effort na mag-isip. Hindi kami pwedeng magpa-tumpik-tumpik dito dahil baka maubusan kami ng supplies.

Tumingin ako kay Luthor at sinenyasan siyang sumali sa discussion namin. Tinawag ko rin si Loki, but he only showed me his hand as a reply.

"Of course, we need the essentials since we can't bring our own." Itinuro ni Jamie ang section ng mga sabon sa listahan. "We need wipes, soap, shampoo, sanitizer, toilet paper, etc. Alam mo na kung ano-ano ang mga 'yon, Lori."

Tumango ako. Teka, speaking of essentials, napabato ako ng tingin sa kanya. "Are you on period? Kailangan ba nating bumili ng menstrual products?"

Umiling siya. "Dinalaw na ako noong isang linggo so you don't have to worry about me. Baka ikaw?"

Nope. Baka next week pa ako dalawin ayon sa calendar ko. Anyway, that's good to hear. We could allot five points to another item in the list.

"Let's go to the camping materials." Alistair pointed at the left side of the list. "We'd be needing one tent and sleeping bags. Tig-iisa tayo. Sleeping pads and camping pillows? Hindi natin kailangan ang mga 'yan. Headlamp is okay, but we can create a campfire na magsisilbing ilaw natin sa gabi. We can buy three flashlights instead, kapag kailangan nating maglibot kapag kumagat na ang dilim."

"What if mag-share kaming dalawa ni Loki sa iisang sleeping bag?" suhestiyon ni Jamie. She sounded serious about it. Naisingit niya pa talaga 'yon. "This may not be too much, pero makatitipid tayo ng 15 points!"

Lumingon si Alistair sa mga nakahilerang gamit sa harapan. Sinundan ko ang tingin niya. "Mukhang 'di kasya ang dalawang tao sa iisang sleeping bag. While it's okay with you, Loki might not feel uncomfortable."

"Kung may magkasama man sa iisang sleeping bag, tayong dalawa 'yon o kaya dalawa sa mga kasama nating lalaki," paglilinaw ko. Ayaw kong i-spoil ang kaligayahan niya, pero baka magkaroon ng kung anong issue kapag pinayagan naming magka-share silang dalawa ni Loki. "Next?"

"Don't you want to purchase a camp table and chairs?" Luthor asked. He was peering over my shoulder left. I appreciate his effort of trying to give us some ideas, unlike someone who buried his nose in the rulebook.

"Those items can provide us some convenience," Alistair replied before turning to him. "But we're not after convenience, are we? Pwede naman tayong umupo sa may lupa o damuhan. We can allot those points to more important items, like food."

Napahalakhak tuloy si Loki sabay baba ng binabasa niyang libro. I shut my eyes for a second. Nakikinig pa rin pala siya sa usapan namin. "Kawawa naman. The ever reasonable Alistair shot down your proposal of buying you a comfy throne."

"Baka may gusto kang ipabili na gamit?" tanong ko. That was my subtle way of asking him to participate. Kanina pa siya nagbabasa sa tabi. Hindi pa ba niya tapos ang rulebook? "Parang apat lang kaming nag-uusap dito. Mag-ambag ka naman."

"I agree with what Alistair said a moment ago," he answered, his hand gesturing to the boy beside me. "We need to prioritize food over conveniences. We can't steal another team's flag if we're hungry. As long as we don't starve to death, I'm fine with whatever choices you make."

"Thank you for your contribution." I rolled my eyes. He merely seconded Alistair's sentiments. Wala man siyang malaking ambag sa discussion. "What else do we need?"

"I'm thinking of charcoal stove para may lutuan tayo." Iginala ni Jamie ang kanyang tingin sa listahan. "Tapos bibili tayo ng dalawa o tatlong pack ng uling. May cooking set na tayo!"

"Or we can go for the firewood," Alistair commented. "Once we're out there, we have some ways to create a campfire. We can also buy three boxes of matches para siguradong makagawa tayo ng apoy lalo na sa gabi."

We continued discussing the items on the list. Halos si Alistair na ang nag-suggest kung ano'ng camping materials na kailangan naming bilhin. When it came to food, ipinaubaya na niya sa aming dalawa ni Jamie ang pamimili. We chose one pot of cooked rice, uncooked hotdogs for dinner, marshmallows for our evening snack, instant cup noodles if we felt hungry at any time of the day, and eggs and loaf of bread for breakfast.

Nang i-total namin kung magkano, saktong 500 ang lumabas. I went over the list one more time before submitting it to Professor Morayta. Kami na naman ang unang natapos sa pagde-decide. Matapos i-verify kung sakto nga sa 500 ang total cost, our instructor allowed us to get the items that we bought.

For the small items, inilagay ko ang lahat sa camping bag dahil medyo malaki at mukhang kasya naman. For big and heavy items, ipinabuhat ko na kay Alistair para dalhin sa puwesto namin.

Once all teams got their items, Professor Morayta asked us to go outside for the final briefing. Dala-dala na namin ang aming mga flag at magkakalayo sa bawat isa. Nagsisimula na ang tensyon sa pagitan ng apat na teams.

"Remember: Your goal is to capture all enemy flags. Kung wala sa inyo ang makakuha sa lahat pagsapit ng alas-dose bukas, the team with the most number of captured flags shall be declared the winner. Beware of the traitors lurking in your own groups. They might give your flags to other teams."

My team had nothing to worry about me. I had no plans of betraying them.

"Malinaw ba ang primary objective ng game?" tanong ni Professor Morayta.

"Yes, sir!" we responded in chorus.

"Let me explain some parts of the terrain." His right hand motioned to the vast landscape around us. "Ang cabin na 'to at ang area na nasa fifteen-meter radius ay considered na neutral ground. Hindi kayo pwedeng mag-camp dito at hindi rin kayo pwedeng mag-agawan ng flag habang nakatapak kayo sa territory na 'to. May makikita kayong yellow line diyan na palatandaan kung hanggang saan ang sakop ng neutral ground."

I craned my neck to see the yellow line. Medyo malayo pero tanaw mula rito sa kinatatayuan namin.

"Beyond the neutral ground, pwede n'yong itayo ang inyong camp. I suggest that you look for a strategic spot. Pwedeng malapit sa portalet, pwedeng malapit sa ilog, pwedeng malapit sa namumungang puno. The Emerson family is generous to allow us to fish in the river."

That's good to know. Hindi lang kami magre-rely sa mga pagkaing dala namin. Masyado kasing limited ang supply, baka magutom agad kami pagkatapos naming kumain.

"Wala naman sigurong snake dito, 'no?" nababahalang bulong ni Jamie. "Baka habang pumipitas tayo ng prutas, may biglang mahulog na ahas sa atin!"

Hopefully none. Our instructor did not mention anything about snakes or any dangerous animal lurking around. The only snakes here would be the participants who picked the traitor card.

"Take note of the no-entry zones." Professor Morayta pointed at one direction where we could see some barb wires. "Do not go beyond the fence dahil hindi na sakop 'yan ng Emerson camping grounds. We don't know what's out there so it's best to stay within the authorized area."

I wonder how vast this camping site was. We could only see a portion of it at the moment. Beyond the woods, doon pa lang namin makikita ang kabuuan nito.

"As for the act of capturing the flag, try not to get too physical," Professor Morayta said. "I know that some of you are competitive, but I hope it won't get to the point na magkakasugatan kayo. Remember that this is only an activity. Understood?"

"Understood, sir!"

"I hereby declare the start of the Capture the Flag game!" he announced before blowing the whistle that hung around his neck.

q.e.d.

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