Chapter 39: Invading Athena High School

I went to school the next day na parang walang nangyari. No one knows what happened last night except Gray and his roommates who, I hoped, kept everything that happened a secret. Kung may nakakaalam man sa klase namin tungkol sa nangyari, it would be me, Gray and X if ever he is really one of my classmates.

The days passed by at mukhang hindi pa nagpapadala ng bagong sulat si X. Sana lang ay tumigil na siya. Gosh, I just don't know how he was able to come up with such plans!

Nang sumapit ang Biyernes ay pinagresearch lamang kami ng isa naming subject teacher para sa book review namin sa library. After few hours of staying there ay lumabas na kami and went straight to the cafeteria. As usual ay sina Gray at Marion pa rin ang kasama ko.

"I really can't believe na si Jeremy nga 'yang nasa kabilang mesa. Yeah, he's still nerd for reading books every time but look at him, he looks so different," Marion said at ininguso si Jeremy na abala sa pagbabasa ng Sherlock Holmes novel na pinahiram ko sa kanya.

Jeremy was still on his school uniform but gone was his thick eyeglasses, sa halip ay nakasuot lamang ito ng contact lense dahil nasira ang salamin nito noong maglaro kami ng dodge ball sa PE Class namin noong Miyerkules. He still has his braces on ngunit ang dating hating-hati sa gitna nitong buhok ay naka-ayos ngayon like the one that usual teenage guys prefer their hairstyles to be.

"He gained fans," komento ni Gray nang makita ang ilang mga babae na panay ang pa-cute kay Jeremy but to no avail because all his attention was on the book. Yeah, I think he's becoming a Sherlockian. Whatever.

"Wow! A chic!" someone said.

"Cool pare! Ang ganda!" komento naman ng isa.

Napalingon ako sa tiningnan ng mga ito and I saw a beautiful lady entered the cafeteria. She was not in Bridle uniform kaya hula ko ay hindi ito mula sa Bridle. Wait, why do I have a feeling that I have already seen that lady? Saan nga ba? I keep on thinking where have I seen her nang bigla na lamang itong lumapit sa mesa naming.

"Ae-ae!" she said smiling. Ae-ae? Hindi ba iyon ang tinawag ni Khael kay Gray? Is she –

Wait, oh my God, she really is! Gulat na napatayo si Gray sa kanyang upuan at nilingon ang babae sa kanyang likuran. I saw Gray's face crumpled at nagkatinginan naman kami ni Marion, throwing a questioning look with each other.

"Ae-ae!" she said again at akmang yayakapin si Gray but the latter keeps himself distance from the lady.

"Stop it Mom," he said.

"What did Gray call the beautiful lady? Mom?" I heard one of the guys in the cafeteria asked.

"Ha? Nanay niya iyan?"

"Shit! Did he really call her mom?"

"But Ae-ae –"

Gray cut her off. "Mom, isa."

The lady pouted at matamang tiningnan si Gray. "Don't you dare count on me Ae-ae."

"Dalawa," Gray said and closed his eyes as if he was controlling his patience.

"Ae –"

"Tatlo," he said. He turned his gaze to me and Marion. "I'm leaving," he said at akmang aalis but the lady held him.

"Fine. Ivan," she said at napatigil naman si Gray.

"What are you doing here Mom?"

"Oh my God, I'm going to be dead! She really is his mom," someone said.

"What the fudge! She looks younger than my sister!"

"What? Why does Gray have a very sexy mom? I'm so jealous!"

Uh, what's with these students commenting such words in loud voices? Duh, Gray and his mom can hear you all!

"I just missed you Ae-ae," she said playfully at ginulo ang buhok ni Gray who looks so pissed on such gesture of his mother.

"I said stop it Mom! Nakakahiya," he said and looked around the cafeteria where the student's attentions were on them. Nang iginala naman ng mama ni Gray ang paningin ay nagkunwaring abala ang bawat isa sa kani-kanilang kinakain. Duh, too obvious.

Saka naman kami napansin ng mama niya. She smiled at us at marahang lumapit. "What is this Ivan? I told you not to be a womanizer. That's too unfair to have two beautiful girls at a time," she said. Namula kaming dalawa ni Marion. What? Kami, babae ni Gray. No no no no!

Tumayo si Marion at bumeso sa mama ni Gray. Uh, feeling close eh?

"Hi Tita, my name is Marion Velmon. I am Gray's seatmate and his future girlfriend," wika nito. Oh Marion, I really appreciate your overflowing confidence. Binato siya ni Gray ng masamang tingin but Marion just ignored him. She's getting along very well with his mom.

"Oh, such a beautiful girl!" she said at gumanti ng beso kay Marion.

"Not as beautiful as you Tita, though I can't believe that you are really his mom since you look so young and beautiful, I can see his similarity in you, especially the eyes. Gray got your tantalizing eyes."

"Really? Oh well, I have him when I was 17 years old," she said smiling. "By the way, I'm Iverone Silvan. And you said you are a Velmon? Are you related to Anton Velmon, the textile King?"

"Actually I'm his daughter," wika nito.

"Oh. I have heard that he has a daughter though I really haven't read that news in the entertainment section," Gray's mom said. Bumaling siya sa akin at tinitigan ako. "Then you must be Amber."

Napatayo ako mula sa pagkakaupo. Oh, she knows me? Now I remembered how Gray badmouthed me to his mom! Maybe she knew me because of those bad things that Gray said!

Bahagya akong yumuko. "Yes Ma'am, my name is Amber Sison."

Nagulat na lang ako ng lumapit siya sa akin at bumeso. Uh, now this is really awkward. "I heard a lot of things about you from Gray and Nana Sena," wika niya. I hope those are not negative things though. "Especially about you being so observant, why don't we try a little deduction game? What can you deduce about me Amber?"

What? She wants me to deduce something about her? How can I, uh, she looks so persistent so I want to give it a try. "I'm not that good as you expect me to be Ma'am but –"

She cut me off. "Tita Ivy would be fine. Drop the formality, pakiramdam ko ay napakatanda ko kapag tinawag mo akong Ma'am," she said.

"I'm not really that good when it comes to deduction T-tita but we'll give it a try." I stared at her for a while. This is really uncomfortable especially that everyone's attention was on us.

"There were traces of bright paints on your fingers probably from paint gun shells, look, meron din sa damit mo, so it's safe to presume that you have played a survival game in a nearby commercial shooting range. Gawa sa water-soluble ink ang paint gun na agad ding mawawala kapag hinugasan but since there were traces of them on you, you haven't washed with water yet. Dumaan ka din sa fast food and ordered cinnamon bread and coffee then you went all the way here. And you probably sleep late last night since there were some dark circles around your eyes, and I guess the reason why you sleep late is because you were watching the late night talk show with the known lawyers about the current issue of tax evasion. Is that right?" I asked her and she clapped her hand.

"Uh, as expected. Yeah, I did play with paint gun with my friends and I didn't wash with water, I just wiped my skin using wet wipes but I guess there were still little traces that only with those with keen eyes can observe. I just had cinnamon bread and coffee, you probably smell that when I kissed you on your cheeks. You're also right on saying that I slept late last night because of such talk show but are there really dark circles on my eyes? Oh, I thought I have them covered with concealer," she said and frowned.

"I don't see any dark circles around your eyes Tita," Marion said at tiningnan ng mas malapit ang mukha ni Tita Ivy. "Wala talaga."

"Of course there are, kahit anong tago mo sa concealer, Amber will still notice it since she got hawk's eyes," wika ni Gray. Hawk eye huh? That's exaggerated.

"Oh well, I'm really impressed. Totoo nga aang naririnig ko mula kay Ae-ae tungkol sa —"

"Mom," banta ulit ni Gray.

"I mean ni Ivan," she pouted at his son. Tiningnan niya kaming tatlo at ngumiti. Oh, now I know where Gray got his sexy smile. Wait, did I say sexy? My God, my choice of words is really getting colorful!

Bumaling naman ito kay Gray. "Well, not a bad choice son but as I've always said, you should settle with one."

Gray rolled his eyes at her. Does she really think that we are Gray's flings?

Gray's mother didn't hang out long dahil dumaan lang umano ito and she's in hurry dahil may trabaho pa itong naiwan. The whole day passed with nothing happened much maliban sa mga lessons at boring na quiz namin sa TLE. Kahit malaki ang nakukuha kong marka sa subject na iyan ay pakiramdam ko ay wala aakong masyadong natutunan.

***

By Monday ay maaga akong tinawagan ni Gray. I was about to take a bath when I received his call.

"Hey, we're not going to school today," wika niya. What the hell? What is he saying? Wala bang pasok ngayon? Wala namang memo ah? It isn't a holiday too.

"Ha?"

"We're going to Athena High School today, remember? We promised Khael na pupunta tayo ngayon," wika nito.

I took a sigh. I almost forgot. Nakapangako nga pala kami na pupunta ngayon 'nung araw na naglaro sina Ryu, Cooler, Khael at Gray ng basketball. I was really planning to turn down his invitation but he made a drama. Ayon sa kanya, he risked his 'precious' life of coming here just to invite us. He even climbed walls!

Saying he risked his life was really overrated. He's the one who volunteered to join the basketball match after all. Uh, eh ano ngayon? Hindi naman namin ito inutusan? In the end ay napapayag na lang ako dahil sa katakot-takot na pagpuppy eyes nito just to have us visit Athena High School.

Isa pa ay may isang open contest daw na mangyayari and it was called a Mythology Quiz Bee. Everyone is allowed to join such quiz bee even though hindi mula sa Athena. I don't have idea what was it about ngunit ayon kay Gray ay nakaugalian na iyon ng Athena High na magkaroon ng ganoong klaseng quiz bee tuwing school festival. It was a quiz bee about Greek mythology as the name suggests.\

After we ended the call ay naligo na nga ko and changed into some decent clothes.

"Oh, you're going somewhere? It's Monday and you're not wearing your uniform," pansin ni Therese. Nagkibit-balikat ako sa kanya.

"I'm not going to school today. I'm going to Athena High."

"Athena High? Ano'ng gagawin mo roon Amber?" tanong ni Andi na kalalabas lamang ng banyo.

"It's their school festival and I promised Khael that we will be going there today," sagot ko sa kanila. After I dried my hair using a blower ay umalis na ako ng dorm and went to the backdoor kung saan naghihintay si Gray.

When I say backdoor, it was not the usual door on the back. It was an escape way upang makalabas sa Bridle without the guards noticing you. Yes, it was right on the woods. After a while of struggling with the bushes ay nakalabas na rin kami ni Gray ng Bridle. My God, now I wished I had Khael's monkey abilities! We could just have climbed on the high walls instead of going through those bushes! Nangangati tuloy ang balat ko!

Gaya ng inaasahan ay naghihintay sa amin ang dakilang driver ni Khael na si Kuya Rex. He said that Khael sent him at hindi na ito sumama dahil may hinahandaan pa ito para sa isang event nito sa Athena. When I glanced at my watch, it was still 6:45 in the morning and Athena is a two-hour drive from Bridle kaya marahil ay makakarating kami roon by quarter to nine.

"Hey, you didn't tell me the reason why you transferred to Bridle," wika ko kay Gray na nakaupo sa tabi ko.

His face crumpled and he pouted at me. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Obvious what?" Oh, I want to punch him. Magtatanong ba ako kung alam ko and if ever I know that obvious reason he was talking about?

"You're slow sometimes. Athena High School is owned by that Greek-myth coded mafia," wika niya.

What?! They owned Athena High School? I thought they're into underground business only!

"I didn't expect they own a known private school."

"Not only private school but as well as private hospitals and other establishments. They extend their business since they don't know how long can their mafia sustain," wika niya.

"They're still business man." Kaya pala mula sa Greek Goddess of Wisdom ang pangalan ng skwelahan nila.\

"Why did you enroll there on the first two years of your high school? Does your mom know that they own it?" tanong ko. I just hoped he would answer it even though I might be digging too much about his personal life.

"Yeah, she knew about it. Actually it's her agreement with Cronus. I should be studying on the school which was owned by him," wika niya. Why does he doesn't call Cronus as his father? Hindi pa ba niya ito natatanggap?

"When I learned about them, that's when I decided to transfer to Bridle and my Dad approved my decision. When I say Dad, I mean Arvie Silvan, my foster father and not Cronus," wika niya.

"What's Cronus' real name?" I asked.

"Cool Vander."

"What?"

"I mean his name is Cool," he said.

"Uh, really? And he named his first son as Cooler so you'd probably be Coolest," I joked. He smiled a little.

"Just as I thought. I have thought of that pun too but unfortunately, iyan talaga dapat ang pangalan ko," wika niya and looked out at the window. I guess he doesn't want to talk about his dad so I decided to drop the subject hanggang sa makarating kami sa Athena.

"We're already here," he said at napatayo na ako at lumabas ng kotse. This is the first time that I have been here to Athena. I just saw its pictures on the website. It was big and well, a nice school. Just like Bridle High, Athena is a much known school. Maganda ang disenyo ng mga building at gaya ng Bridle ay boarding school din ito.

Pagbaba namin ay naroon na si Khael and he was with his stupid smiled plastered in his face. Nang makita niya ako ay nakangiting lumapit siya sa akin and positioned himself to give me a welcoming kiss ngunit nakahanda na ang kamao ko upang salubungin ang mukha nito.

"That's rude Special A!" he said pouting. "I'm going to kiss Silvan instead," wika niya.

Gray was also pressing his knuckles. "Come here Alonzo, my fist is dying to meet your lips."

He stopped and crossed his arms. "I should be getting a thank you kiss and hugs from you," wika niya at nagpatiunang naglakad. "Fine then, follow me. I will tour you around. Oh, since Gray is familiar with Athena, I will be touring Special A alone kaya tsupi! Alis ka na, go and find some old friends to hang out with," wika niya kay Gray.

Sa halip na umalis si Gray ay mas lalo pa itong dumikit sa akin. "Ayoko nga. Tour me around with Amber. I'm not an Athenian anymore and I feel like stranger in this place," he said with a poker face.

Inilibot nga kami ni Khael sa Athena. We visited the different booths at naaliw ako sa kani-kanilang mga pakulo.

Khael glanced at his watch. "It's almost time. Tara na sa AVR dahil magsisimula na ang quiz bee," he said at nagmadaling umalis.

When we arrived at the AVR, there was an announcement posted there saying that the Quiz Bee's venue was transferred to the Information Technology Building, so we went there instead. Pagdating namin doon ay maraming tao gaya ng inaasahan.

"Just like the old times, there were lots of people interested in this quiz bee. They always pull through something in this," komento ni Gray. Khael guided us into one of the seats at naupo kami doon habang hinihintay na magsimula ang quiz bee.

Hindi nagtagal ay nagsalita na ang isang faculty sa harap and introduced the main mechanics and instructions for the quiz bee.

"Good day Athenians and guests! As usual, we have our annual Quiz Bee that Athena High School used to have. As of this year, we have a new procedure in going through this quiz just like every time, may bago na naman. As you see, we are here in the IT Building it's because our Quiz bee would be with the help of little devices here in front. For those who wants to join the Quiz Bee, please sit down in the respective chairs in front of the computers, we need 30 participants for the first batch of the quiz," wika ng nag-announce. Nagsimula nang tumayo ang mga tao at pumwesto sa harap ng mga computer units.

"Guess who developed the program for this quiz?"

I rolled my eyes. "Who?"

"Apollo, the great hacker!" wika ni Khael. "At sa unang pagkakataon na magpapakita si Apollo sa publiko! Grabe, dati ay sa internet at sabi-sabi ko lamang siya naririnig. Naihanay na niya ang pangalan niya sa mga hackers na nagsilbing cult figures ng nmga aspiring programmers."

"Hindi by pair o by group gaya ng dati?" tanong ni Gray kay Khael.

Khael shrugged his shoulders. "That's w hat they said. This year's quiz bee is individual. Why Silvan, you got cold feet for this at ayaw mo nang sumali?" he asked boastfully.

"Dream on Alonzo. This will be the first time that we will be fighting for the quiz bee since we always cooperate before."

"I can't wait!"

I just rolled my eyes on them. What now, they're trying to compete over this quiz bee again? Uh! Bahala sila. They still haven't decided among them who got the better brain.

"Ah, there's Apollo!" wika ng isang estudyante at tinuro ang lalaking nakatayo sa harap ng servers.

Natigilan kami ng makita kung sino si Apollo. It was the same Apollo that I know. Kahit na nakamaskara siya ay kilalang-kilala ko kung sino iyon. I met him few times with or without his mask.

It's Ryu, the devil.