Shandice

"Stop whispering on someone right in front of you!" Dumagungdong ang boses ni Fire sa loob ng cafeteria kaya lalong tumahimik ang paligid. Halos ni pagtunog ng kutsara at tinidor ay walang natinigan. Hindi ko nga alam kung humihinga pa ba ang mga ito.

Nabasag lang ang katahimikan nang bumukas ang pinto ng cafeteria at iniluwa roon ang babaeng nakangiti habang nakatingin sa gawi ni Xai.

Nagulat na lang kami nang tumakbo ito papalapit sa table namin nang hindi pinapansin ang tensyon sa cafeteria. Sa bilis ng pangyayari ay natagpuan na lang namin siyang umupo sa tabi ni Xai upang kabigin ang braso niya. Ilan sa mga nanonood ay biglang napasinghap dahil sa ginawa nito.

"What do you want, Rynna?" Tinaas ko na lang ang kilay ko dahil sa pangalan niya. It sounds like Reyna pero mukha niya parang hampas lupa.

I was rendered speechless when she suddenly kissed him on the cheek. Awtomawikong napatayo si Xai dahil sa ginawa niya. "What the fuck?" He hissed, glaring at her.

"I just missed you, love!" She pouted. Nakita ko kung paano kumunot ang noo ni Xai sa narinig. Makasalubong na magkasalubong ang kilay nito.

"Get off. People are looking." Despite his seemingly irritated look, he managed to sound calm and composed. Inilibot ko ang paningin ko at napansin kong lahat nga ay nakatutok sa kanila.

"Who cares? Let's go on a date!" Pamimilit pa ng babae.

"Can you stop this bullshit? Akmang tatabigin na ni Xai ang kamay ni Rynna sa braso nang hilahin siya nito pabalik.

Umawang ang labi ko nang aktong hahalikan na siya ng bruha. Tatalima na sana ako nang may lumitaw na naglalagablab na fire flame sa gitna ng dalawa, dahilan upang mapaatras ang mga ito nang nanlalaki ang mata.

"What the—" Xai couldn't finish his words when the flame split into two. Kapwa umatake ang mga ito sa kanilang dalawa. They ran, but it kept on chasing them.

I look around to find Fire, but she's nowhere to be found. Muli ay binalik ko ang tingin ko kay Xai at Rynna na sinusubukan pa rin umiwas sa fire flame. I tried to help them by creating air loops but made a wrong calculation. Imbis mamatay ito ay mas lalo itong lumiyab.

The students inside the cafeteria started to move out para hindi sila madamay sa kung ano man ang mangyayari. "I got this." Wika ni Sena bago ito tirahin ng water ball. Fortunately, it vanished.

Akmang uupo na kami pabalik nang may lumitaw na namang apoy sa kawalan, sa pagkakataong ito ay makikita mong may tubig na ito sa gitna. Onyx and Vincent fired a lighting bolt, but it was useless. The fire flame only devoured it. Ngayon ay sigurado na ako kung kanino nagmumula ang fire flame na iyon. Even the superior and sub joined forces but still wasn't able to extinguish it.

Nagkatinginan kaming lahat. We instructed everyone in the cafeteria to leave. Kendrick suggested we attack it unison to destroy it pero sa oras na tumama nang sabay ang tira namin dito ay lumikha lang ito ng napakalakas na pagsabog na naging dahilan ng pagkasira ng buong cafeteria.

"ELEMENTALIST PLEASE REPORT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE NOW!"

Putakte, nalagot na!

Xai

Punishment room? Is he kidding me? I can't stand being in that room. The longer you stay there, the more it tries to drain your strength and power. But I have no choice. Eto at kakalabas lang namin galing doon. As punishment for the ruckus we did, our legend would be sealed for a day. Hindi naman namin sinasadya na pasabugin ang cafeteria.

It was the fire flame's fault. Dapat nga parusahan din si Rynna, but she escaped unscathed. I can't use any of my power now. I felt so mundane. Great!

"I miss my powers already!" Muntungangal ni Kylla.

"What? So mas mamimiss mo powers mo kesa sa akin?" Nyx pouted. Ang isang to, nagkaaminan lang sila ni Kylla anlaki na ng pinagbago. Naging cringe lalo.

"Huy Onyx! Ang korni mo!" Diring-diri na sabe ni Kendrick kaya binatukan sya ni Sena at sinabihang naiingit lang siya.

"This is the first time I entered that Punishment room! And hell, I could've died!" Kent blurted out. Well, it was my first time as well. Siguro noon ay muntik na noong sinubukan kong pasabugin ang office ni dad.

The pain you have to go through in that room is excruciating enough, like your veins are popping, and your head will be in a spiral as gravity pulls you down—restricting your organs from functioning. Almost momentarily felt like dying for a few seconds.

"The fire flame. . ." Hindi pa man natatapos ni Ice ang kung ano mang sasabihin niya ay nahulog na rin kami sa pag-iisip. That flame wasn't from me. Only Laurice could conjure such fire. But she wasn't even there that time.

"My powers! I can't live like this!" Busangot na bulalas ni Pinky habang nakanguso.

"Hey, Shan. Are you okay?" Rinig kong tanong ni Vin kay Shandice na mukhang kanina pa may malalim na iniisip.

"Ah, oo naman! Duh, babalik din naman yun bukas!" She replied, laughing.

"Stay away from him!" Sabay kaming napalingon sa pinanggalingan ng boses na iyon. I tilted my head, only to see Rynna confronting. . .

"What the fuck is your problem? You should be the one who needs to stay out of his sight." Kalmado ngunit madiin na sagot sa kanya ni Laurice. I bit my bottom lip. Is she like this on her red days? Kung dati tamad siya makipag-away ngayon ay halos lahat binabangga niya.

"Is that F—" Hindi ko na pinakinggan pa ang gustong sabihin ni Nicolo. Malalaking hakbang ang tinahak ko upang makapunta sa nagkukumpulang tao.

"Excuse me? Why should I? Ano ka ba niya? I bet he doesn't even like you." Kusang humawi ang mga estudyante nang mamataan akong papalapit sa gawi nila. They paved way, and I saw how Laurice's eyes flared in red.

"Shut the fuck up." With those words, serving as a warning, Rynna's body moved. Kusang lumapit ang katawan nito patungo kay Laurice. Ngayon ay nakalapat na ang kamay nito sa leeg ni Rynna habang sinasakal ito.

What the hell!

"L-let me go!" Napamura na lang ako sa isipan ko. Her eyes were like daggers, glaring at her with fury as if she wanted to burn her alive.

As much as I wanted to stop her, my powers were sealed. None of us are capable of stopping her at the moment.

"Laurice, calm down," I whispered, raising my hands in the air—trying to persuade her not to get her emotions the best of her.

"Please, bring her down. Let's talk this out, okay?" Her gaze turned to me. Ang kaninang mabangis niyang titig ay biglang lumamlam nang magtagpo ang aming mga mata. Mabilis niyang binitawan si Rynna.

To my surprise, this little bitch ran towards me and hugged me like a freakin' leech. "S-she tried to kill me! Mabuti na lang nandyan ka para iligtas ako!" She cried.

What the hell is wrong with this woman?

"Laurice this is—" Bumagsak ang panga ko nang makita ko ang sitwasyon niya.

Her fiery red hair danced wildly, almost as if it were ablaze, and even her clothes appeared to be burning embers. I felt a surge of panic rising within me. I couldn't comprehend what was happening to her. Why was she suddenly lashing out uncontrollably?

Walang salita itong tumalikod at naglakad patungong Nightmare's Forest. Sa bawat hakbang na gingawa niya ay nag iiwan ito ng marka ng apoy. Everything happned so fast.As she lifted her left hand, the flames surged forward, engulfing the left side of the forest in a fiery blaze.

All I wanted at this moment was to elevate her anger. I tried to embrace her in my arms and whisper sweet nothings to her ears and calm her down.

Pinanood ko kung paano magkalat ang lumalagablab na apoy sa mga dahon ng puno papunta sa mga sanga nito. Nilukob ng kaba at takot ang sistema ko. Kaba na baka tuluyang masunog ang buong Nightmare's Forest at takot na ba kung anong mangyari sa kanya dahil sa nag-uumapaw na enerhiyang lumalabas sa kanya.

My body moved and rushed towards her. I held her arm and pulled her towards me, crashing her soft lips into mine. Awtomatikong bumalik sa normal ang buhok niya. My arms snaked around her waist. Pati ang suot niya bumalik na rin sa normal at hindi na ito lumalagablab ng apoy.

"You piece of shit!" She cursed. "You stole my first kiss!" Napakurap-kurap ako nang makitang sumilay ang isang ngiti sa labi niya. It was the first time I saw her smiling. And damn, she was beautiful.

"Laurice!" Sigaw ko nang biglang pumikit ang mga mata niya. Dahil sa taranta ko ay naidulas ko ang paa ko dahilan upang mapaupo ako sa lupa. Good thing I managed to catch her before she falls on the ground.

Ngayon ay nakahiga ito sa pagitan ng hita ko habang nakasandal ang ulo niya sa bandang dibdib ko. Pinakiramdaman ko ang sarili ko. Sitting there, close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her, with our bodies gently pressing against each other, it felt as if my heart was on the verge of bursting from an overwhelming flood of affection and tenderness.

That's when I realized. . . she stole my first kiss, too. 

To be continued. . .