REYNARD

ALARIC ESTEBAN left us on a cliffhanger with his constitutional amendment thingy. I had suspected that Priam through Castiel's maneuverings would seek reelection. It turned out that I was right, thanks to Valeria's exposé about Oplan First Lady's purpose. Sakaling maipasa ang amendment, hindi na makatatakbo sa susunod na eleksiyon ang incumbent. Castiel was saved by the bell, thanks to the motion by CAMP's Avrille and the timing of their session.

Pero time out na muna sa panibagong drama na 'yan! The first semester was about to end, and we were approaching the semestrial break. Suspended na muna ang sessions ng LEXECOM kaya wala na muna akong iko-cover do'n. Did that mean I would also be on a break? Nope! Walang break sa pagbabalita. The annual campus fair was just around the corner anyway.

"Thank you for coming to our department meeting," our news editor Nolan San Miguel greeted us. We gathered around the conference table in the meeting room. Present ang lahat ng news writers, which was kinda rare dahil minsan lang kami makompleto. "Tomorrow is the start of the three-day campus fair, and we want all hands on deck."

Covering events wasn't my cup of tea. Most of the time, I found it boring because I would only report what happened. Where's the fun in that? Mas gusto kong mag-cover ng scandals dahil may thrill do'n. Parang karne—mas juicier, mas meatier. Unless something bizarre happened at the campus fair, I'd rather write about the paint drying.

But I was just a news writer for The Herald. Wala pa ako sa posisyon para mag-no sa assignments namin. If I wanted to be the one assigning reporter beats and chilling in the office most of the time, I had to be in the position of the person standing at the other end of this table. In short, I had to be the editor.

"Starting tomorrow at lunchtime, we will be posting updates and articles every hour," our editor continued. May kinuha siyang kumpol ng mga papel mula sa folder at ipinamigay ang mga 'yon sa amin. "These are your assignments for the next three days. We're expecting at least two to four articles a day from you."

Two to four only? That's gonna be a piece of cake... kung sanang gusto ko 'tong iko-cover ko. I could probably write five to seven articles if I was in the right mood and headspace. Nope, I wasn't bragging. I was just stating a fact.

Inabot sa 'kin ni Ambrielle ang ilang sheets ng papel. Kumuha ako ng isa at ipinasa sa katabi kong si Spencer. I closed my eyes and prayed for the best beat. If I were to cover one of the many activities tomorrow, I would want the most comfortable and convenient for me. Ayaw kong maglakad-lakad sa campus quadrangle habang tirik ang araw.

Please let it be the concert or play. Please let it be the concert or play.

Iminulat ko ang aking mga mata at hinanap ang pangalan ko sa assignment sheet. Nilawakan ko ang aking ngiti para maka-attract ng positive vibes at maki-conspire sa 'kin ang universe. Nakita ko ang phrase na "benefit concert," pero wala ang pangalan ko sa tabi nito. Sunod kong nakita ang phrase na "opening show," pero wala rin ang pangalan ko sa tabi n'on. Dahan-dahang naglaho ang ngiti sa mga labi ko hanggang sa makita ang aking pangalan sa pinakadulo. It made me frown.

Roving — Reynard Falcon

I hung my head low and squeezed my eyes shut. Bakit sa raffle draws na may grand prizes, minamalas ako. Pero kapag sa bunutan ng assignments, ako ang napipili? Parang baligtad yata ang ibinibigay sa 'kin ng universe.

Roving meant that I would be on the move throughout the event, with no particular focus in any area or activity. On the negative side, posibleng maubos ang energy ko sa kaiikot sa quadrangle at ibang areas na may booths. Paniguradong maiinitan at pagpapawisan din ako kaya kailangan kong mag-apply ng sunscreen at magsuot ng kumportableng damit. Goodbye hoodie for now. On the positive side, I could do whatever I wanted to do! Puwede akong maglibot sa buong fair na parang normal na estudyante. And who knows? Something interesting might happen while I was enjoying the event.

"Hey," bulong ko sabay siko kay Ambrielle na seryosong nakikinig sa editor namin. "Ano'ng assignment mo tomorrow?"

She gave me a side-eye. "Opening show of Romeo and Juliet. How about you?"

"Roving!" I forced a smile to show her that I was happy with mine. Ayaw kong ipakitang minalas ako dahil baka ikatuwa pa niya.

"Oooh... Good luck. Mukhang mapapasabak ka bukas."

My left brow arched. "What do you mean?"

"Sheesh!"

"For Ambrielle who will cover the opening of our stage play, you will be given a complimentary ticket later," our editor Nolan went on as he nodded toward my seatmate. "You will be accompanied by a feature writer and a photojournalist tomorrow. You will cover the less exciting part of the play while your feature counterpart will cover the juicy part a.k.a. review of the opening show and interview with the actors. Understood?"

"Yes," she replied with a nod.

"The university chancellor will be in attendance tomorrow. If you can have a very short interview with him—just one or two questions—please do so. Okay?"

"Okay na okay!" Smiling, Ambrielle showed him two thumbs up.

Wow. I wasn't envious of her, but not everyone would get the chance to interview the chancellor who rarely made public appearances on campus. Kung isa kang baguhang reporter ng The Herald, malamang kakabahan ka. The pressure might even crush you. But we're talking about Ambrielle here. Kayang-kaya niya 'yon.

Me? I could also pull that off. Kapal ng mukha at lakas ng loob ang kailangan.

"Spencer," our editor called next, "you will also be given a ticket for the benefit concert. Gaya kay Ambrielle, meron kang kasamang feature writer at dalawang photojournalist. You can join the scheduled interview one hour before the show, habang nagpapahinga sa green room ang mga artist at band."

"Noted, boss," my other seatmate replied. "I've already interviewed the OSA director and received a reply from the USC PIO. Mismong ganap sa concert na lang ang kulang."

"Good! If we can publish the article online by late evening or early morning, even better."

Wow. I also wasn't envious of Spencer, but I'd be lucky to cover the concert. Star-studded ang lineup—Jen & Jen, KJ Ojabal, Three of Clubs, at iba pa—kaya siguradong sold out na ang tickets. Kung ako ang naka-assign do'n, makiki-jamming ako habang nagsusulat ng article. Business and pleasure at the same time! To their credit, the USC had outdone themselves. I just hoped that nothing untoward would happen tomorrow evening.

"Finally, Rey," our editor called me after discussing the assignments of the other news writers. "You will be roving for three days. Mag-stretching ka muna bago magsimula ang coverage bukas. Go around the activity areas. Monitor the group chat para matakbuhan mo agad kapag may biglaang ganap sa event."

Itinaas ko ang aking kamay na parang nagre-recite sa klase. "Puwede ba akong mag-drop by saglit sa auditorium para silipin ang play o sa arena para manood saglit ng concert?"

"You don't have tickets for both, so no."

I held up my other ID card. "But I have my media pass! It's a key to unlock any door in this university, right? By the way, I was quoting you when you handed them to us."

"Not this time." Our editor shot me down again. Ouch. "May mga naka-assign nang writers doon. Just a gentle reminder: Don't use your media IDs as free passes."

Locking my arms behind my head, I shrunk in my seat and clicked my tongue. Ano pa'ng sense ng pagiging roving kung hindi ko mapupuntahan ang lahat ng event areas sa campus? I should be able to go in and out anywhere at any time.

"I heard from Rowan that the USC president and VP will be roaming, too," Ambrielle said after being acknowledged by our editor. Lumingon siya sa 'kin. "Baka puwedeng bumuntot si Rey sa kanila."

Kaya pala ginood luck mo ako kanina.

"Kung walang ganap, puwedeng gano'n ang gawin mo, Rey," pagsang-ayon ng editor namin. "They might say or do something newsworthy. Keep your eyes peeled."

"Noted," I replied lazily. Tailing Priam and Castiel like a shadow would probably not be the most productive use of my time.

"The first semester is about to end, and we're halfway through the academic year," our editor said, his tone becoming much more serious. "For those who want to stand where I am, this is the time to show off what you've got. You will be working under pressure and strict deadlines. If you can't manage that, then my position may not be for you."

I flicked my gaze to Ambrielle who happened to glance at me. Our eyes met briefly. Alam ko ang tingin na 'yon. The two of us were most likely the frontrunners in the race to be the next news editor. I wasn't actually after the position. I was only after the perks. Gusto kong magkaroon pa ng access sa mga balita na gusto kong i-cover. Gusto kong ako ang magbigay ng assignments sa news writers namin. Gusto ko ring magkaroon ng sariling cubicle at seat sa editorial board.

Now that we were halfway through this game, the competition was about to heat up. Meron na akong early advantage dahil sa mga naunang exposé ko. If I had managed to expose Oplan First Lady last month, I would probably have boosted my chances and widened the gap between me and Ambrielle. But alas, things didn't go my way.

Well, there's still a chance to expose the USC.

"If you have no questions, this meeting is adjourned," our editor concluded. "Good luck sa three-day coverage natin. Let's do our best to deliver the news that matters to the Elysian community."

He grabbed the folder on the table and left the meeting room. Nagsitayo na rin ang ilan sa mga kasama ko at sumunod na sa kaniya. Me? I chose to stay for a while. Ayaw kong sumabay at makipagsiksikan sa kanila. Everyone could get out of this room anyway.

"The race is on," Ambrielle said as she got to her feet. Since I remained seated, she looked down at me. "Don't let up, Rey. Don't make me win this race easily."

"Hey, that's my line!" My lips curled into a confident smirk. "Keep up, Rie. I want you to be just a foot behind me once I cross the finish line."

"Rie?"

"Tinawag mo ako sa nickname ko, kaya tatawagin din kita sa nickname mo."

"No one calls me Rie."

"Then think of it as my exclusive nickname for you." I sprang from my seat and stood face to face with her. "Rie is much cuter than Amby and more unique than Elle, don't you think?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't give me nicknames, okay? Hindi tayo gano'n ka-close."

"After everything we went through during the impeachment trial? Even after I bought you a bunch of chocolate sundaes?"

"That's just a truce out of necessity—"

"May meeting ba ang top contenders para sa news editorship?"

A towering shadow was cast over us. Sabay kaming lumingon sa aking likuran. Spencer stood there with his arms folded. Agaw-pansin ang matingkad na highlights ng undercut hairstyle niya. He was a few inches taller than me.

"Kung oo, bakit 'di ako kasama?" dagdag niya, palipat-lipat ang tingin sa amin ng kausap ko. "Tayong tatlo ang nagba-vie para sa posisyong 'yon. Tayong tatlo rin ang pinaka-qualified so far."

"No offense, but I think you're a distant third." I scratched my right cheek. "However, you're welcome to witness who between me and Rie here will be the next news editor. Kung gusto mo, magpustahan pa tayo."

"Don't call me Rie!"

"I may be a distant third, but I'm catching up with you two. This isn't a two-way race anymore." Spencer took a few steps forward, forming a circle—or maybe a triangle—with me and Ambrielle. "Have you seen the stats of my recent articles? Laging nasa top three most viewed ang mga isinulat ko. The impeachment surveys even made it to the top one."

"Congrats!" bati ko sa kaniya. "Kaso wala sa number of views 'yan, nasa quality ng article."

"That's what losers say when they're lagging behind in the numbers game," he replied with his smirk growing wider. "Kung ako sa inyo, lagi kong tatandaang lumingon sa likuran para alam ko kung sino ang malapit nang makahabol. Malayo pa ang tatakbuhin natin kaya huwag kayong magpakakampante."

He excused himself and waved his right hand as he exited the room. Sinundan ko siya ng tingin hanggang sa makabalik siya sa kaniyang workstation. The guts of that guy.

"Should we worry about him, Rie?" I asked.

"Maybe?" Ambrielle shrugged. "But for the nth time, stop calling me Rie."

30

NEXT UPDATE: Last day of Fabienne's rehearsal for the play!