Chapter 13

Nagising na lang ako dahil sa init na tumatama sa may bandang paanan ko. When I opened my eyes, nakita ko iyong bintanang basag na at doon sa butas na iyon nanggagaling ang init ng araw na tumatama sa akin.

I moved a bit, then I noticed the jacket that was slightly covered on my body. I took it. At nakita ko pa kung saan parte iyong may punit na ipinantali sa sugat ko. When I realized who owns it, napatingin ako sa kung saan siya pumwesto kagabi pero wala na siya roon.

I heave a sigh. That guy. I don't know who he is. Ni pangalan niya man lang ay hindi ko alam. Sure, he always threatens me but after what he did, tila nawala ng kaunti iyong takot na mayroon ako sa kanya.

I'm holding from the smallest possibility that he won't hurt me because if he's really planning to kill me, he should have done it before but he's doing otherwise. He always shows up to protect me and that's something I don't understand about him. Kung balak nga ba talaga niya akong patayin or what.

Later on, I stood up. Maybe I should go back in our dorm now. About the jacket, I did fold it at inilagay ko na lang iyon sa may karton na ginamit niya kagabi.

Nang makalabas ako sa silid na iyon, it's as if nasa iba akong lugar. Masyado kasi itong malayo though it's still in the vicinity of the academy. It took me more than twenty minutes bago ko narating iyong mismong Primoon Academy.

Pagkarating ko roon, students are scattered everywhere. They're having their own worlds as if nothing happened yesterday.

Bilib din naman ako sa kanila e. They know how to act normal despite all the killings this academy ruled. Also, about those splattered blood caused by the Murderous Night, nakakamanghang isipin na sa tuwing magliliwanag na ay wala ka ng makikitang dugo na nakakalat, na para bang walang patayang naganap. Hays.

"Where have you been?" Iyon ang salubong ng mga kaibigan ko pagkarating ko sa dorm. Even the group of Caitlyn looked at me.

Dumiretso ako sa kama at doon ay humilata ako.

"Somewhere safe?" Patanong kong sagot dahil hindi ko naman sigurado kung may safe ba sa parte ng lugar na ito. "I couldn't get out there. I even had to hide because of those red cloak guys. Tch. This school is really a hell." I answered with my eyes closed.

I wanted to sleep. Hindi ko kasi magawang matulog ng mahimbing kagabi dahil sa  mga pangyayaring naganap. Natatakot ako na baka anytime, those guys would suddenly show up and kill us. I was so thankful that they did not. But I don't know kung hanggang kailan ba dapat ako maging thankful sa tuwing ligtas kami sa lugar na ito.

"Hindi ka papasok?" Eyra asked me. Naramdaman ko pa ang pag-upo nito sa may paanan ko.

"No. I'll just sleep. I'm losing interest in studying because of how this school works." I answered. Rinig ko ang pagbuntong-hininga ng mga ito.

Maya-maya lang din ay nagpaalam na sila sa akin. My friends told me that they will just make some excuses para raw maintindihan ako ng mga teacher namin but I wouldn't mind at all.

Para sa akin kasi, tila nawawalan ng saysay ang mga kaalamang nalalaman namin kung gabi-gabi ay walang kasiguraduhan kung mabubuhay pa ba kami o kung iyon na ang magiging huling araw namin.

Having enough sleep, I woke up around 3 in the afternoon. Since I am not in the mood to cook for my lunch, naisipan kong doon na lamang ako sa Primoon Plaza kakain. If sa food court, I'm afraid if some of my classmates especially my teachers would see me. Tch.

Okay, part of me is still worried. Hindi ako sanay umabsent sa klase but I'm doing it right now without a valid reason. Pero kasi, I'm slowly losing interest in everything and... Damn, I really hate this school!

Nang makarating ako sa plaza, iyong street foods ang napagdiskitahan ko. Good thing they already have it kahit ganitong tanghaling tapat pa lamang. Aside from me, mayroon din namang mga estudyanteng nagagawi rito. Marami sila sa totoo lang.

I'm not just sure if it's their break time or kung wala na silang klase o kung katulad ko ay wala lang talaga silang balak na pumasok.

As I'm busy eating alone, I heard this group of students talking about what happened yesterday night. Nakakarindi na. Iyon na nga ang nasaksihan ko kagabi, pati ba naman ngayon ay iyon pa rin ang maririnig ko.

"Sssh, huwag nga kayong maingay. Baka may makarinig sa atin." I heard another student stated.

I just sneered. So what if someone would hear them? Huwag nilang sabihin pati iyon ay bawal din?

Ang bulung-bulungan na narinig ko ay unti-unting nawala. Maybe, they left already.

"I thought you're sick? But here you are, prenteng nakaupo at sarap na sarap sa pagkain." Matapos kong isubo iyong laman ng cup ko, sitting on the stool, I turned around to see kung sino iyong nagsalita. He's just looking at me as if I did something wrong.

"Why? Are you hungry? You can get what you want. I'll pay for you." Seryoso kong saad pero may bahid ng inis at sarkasmo sa tono ko. Pati ba naman pagkain, pinapansin pa niya?

"Seriously, why are you here? Your friends told our teachers that you're sick but you are here and you seem fine at all." He added. Well, it's Damon.

I understand that he's the ASBO Governor here and that he has some things to do kaya minsan ay nasa labas siya. But I didn't know na part pala ng responsibility niya ang pagcheck sa mga students na nandito sa plaza.

"Yeah, I'm really sick. I'm so fucking sick because of this school!" Napaikot ako ng mata saka muling hinarap iyong nagtitinda.

I ordered another set of food again. Darn, nakakagutom ang takbo ng usapan namin ng lalaking 'to.

"Be careful with your words, Millizen." Napaharap ako sa kanya.

Sa paraan kasi ng tono niya'y tila napakalaking kasalanan ng binanggit ko kanina para ganoon ang sabihin niya sa akin.

"What? I'm telling the truth! This school makes me sick and—"

"Fuck," I heard him say.

Hindi ko na natuloy ang sasabihin ko at biglang nanlaki ang dalawa kong mata sa sunod niyang ginawa.

Damon... just kissed me.

When he let go of me, nanatili lamang ang mga paningin ko sa kanya. I'm giving him this kind of look that's asking him why he has to do that. Again, I heard him cussed saka niya ako hinila palayo sa lugar na iyon.

Habang hila-hila niya ako, may mga estudyante kaming nakasalubong and all of them are looking at us... at me.

"Pwede ba?" Agad kong binawi ang kamay ko sa kanya. Naiinis ako sa kanya at ngayo'y hindi ko pa alam kung saan niya ako dinala. "You pervert! Why the hell did you kiss—" I couldn't finish my words. Just the thought that he... Darn!

"Why did you do that?" Pagbawi ko sa dapat ay itatanong ko sa kanya.

I wanted to punch him right now. Nakakaasar.

"Mad that I took your first kiss?" He asked instead of answering my question. "I can give it back to you if you want." Kulang na lang ay umusok ang ilong ko dahil sa isinagot niya. Inirapan ko na lamang siya. Nakakainis talaga.

"I just did that to stop you." Malalim ang naging pagbuntong-hininga nito matapos niyang sabihin iyon.

"Stop me from what?" Nakataas ang kilay na tanong ko sa kanya.

"From saying things against this school."

"That's absurd!" I shouted. "Totoo naman 'yong mga sinabi ko—"

"And you can die from saying so. One of the rules." He answered. Napatawa na lamang ako dahil sa sinabi nito. Rules again? "Sa mga sinabi mo, pwede kang isumbong ng mga estudyanteng nakarinig sa'yo. Worst, they have the right to decide what to do with your life and they could get points from it."

Napapikit na lamang ako ng mata dahil sa sinabi niya, pilit pinapakalma ang sarili ko. This school is teaching students how to become a demon para lamang mabuhay kami.

"If that so, then you should have just told me instead of kiss—I hate you!" Inis kong sumbat sa kanya.

Pwede naman niyang sabihin sa akin, bakit kailangan pa niya akong halikan?

"I already warned you—"

"Kahit na!" Pagpuputol ko sa kanya.

I glared him pero hindi ko alam kung bakit ngumingisi pa siya sa akin. Pinanlakihan ko na lamang siya ng mata.

"Be careful with your words and your actions Millizen." Kalaunay saad nito sa akin.

"It's my life. Gagawin ko kung anong gusto ko."

"But we are here in this place where we don't own our lives." Doon ako napatahimik. What he said is true and that's what infuriates me.

"Just take good care of yourself. I'm not always here to protect you." Huli nitong saad bago niya ako tuluyang nilampasan.

Sinundan ko na lamang siya ng tingin saka ako napailing. As far as I know, this was the first time he saved me. Kung makapagsalita siya, akala mo naman I owe him my life. Tsk.

Muli akong nahiga pagkabalik ko ng dorm. Erica and Visel were already here samantalang ang mga kaibigan ko maging sila Caitlyn, Lileth at Kristel ay wala pa. Our classes usually end at 4:30 PM kaya naiintindihan kong wala pa ang mga kaibigan ko rito pero hindi ko lang alam doon sa tatlo.

"Where have you been?" Tanong sa akin ni Erica, kasalukuyan siyang nagkakape. Sa tuwing bumabalik ako rito sa dorm ay iyon na lang lagi ang bungad nila sa akin.

"Plaza. Bumili lang akong pagkain. Wala na kayong pasok?" Tanong ko sa kanila pabalik.

"Yeah. Kaka-dismiss sa amin."

"How about Caitlyn, Lileth and Kristel?" I asked again.

Kahit papaano ay medyo nagiging okay naman na ang relasyon ko sa limang ito. Nagagawa ko ng makipag-usap sa kanila ng kaswal hindi katulad noong una ko silang makita.

"Caitlyn attended their meeting. You know, officer's responsibility. The two went to the plaza, magmimiryenda raw." Napatango na lamang ako sa isinagot nito.

Maya-maya lang din ay dumating na ang mga kaibigan ko.

As usual, we went to the training ground around 5 pm. Gano'n na lang lagi ang ginagawa namin. Tapos kakain kinagabihan at maghahanda sa panibago na namang laban.

When the bell rings, sabay-sabay na kaming lumabas. It's already 10 PM.

Nang makababa kami, natigil kami sa paglalakad because of the sudden announcement. Nakakapagtaka lang dahil bago magsimula ang Murderous Night ay wala naman silang ina-anunsyo. What's with the announcement this time?

[Primoonsters, please proceed to the Primoon Hall now. I repeat, all the students please proceed to the Primoon Hall now.]

As per announcement, doon nga kami tumuloy. I even saw this group of students changing their greetings.

Nakakapanghinayang lang. Kung sana wala kami sa paaralang ito, students won't act this way. Iyong magkakaibigan sila kapag maliwanag pero magkaaway kapag sasapit ang alas dyes ng gabi hanggang alas dose ng madaling araw.

"Good evening everyone. Starting tonight, we will discontinue the Murderous Night for the mean time. Right now, we will be working from the outsiders to prevent from killing the students." Iyon ang pahayag ni Principal Arizona at sa unang pagkakataon simula no'ng tumapak ako sa paaralang ito, iyon na yata ang pinakamagandang narinig ko.

Based on the announcement, I'm sure na iyong mga kalalakihan ang tinutukoy nilang outsiders.

Aside from that news, they also announced the points each teammates got and yes, our group was not on the top ten. After that, pinayagan na nila kaming magsibalikan sa mga dorm namin without the killings.

Palabas na kami noon ng Primoon Hall subalit napahinto kami nang may humarang sa amin.

"For the first time, your group didn't make it into the Top 5." It was a group of girls and I don't know who are they.

"As long as my teammates are all safe, then I don't care about that ranking." Caitlyn answered.

"Really? As far as I know, being on the rank is your life Caitlyn." Kusa kaming napatinging magkakaibigan sa direksyon ni Caitlyn matapos iyong sabihin nung babae. "And since when did you care about your teammates?" That girl laughed including those girls on her back.

"Things change Bettina. Now, please let us go before I could kill you." Caitlyn emphasized bago niya lampasan ang mga ito.

Not knowing what's happening between them, sumunod na lamang kami kina Caitlyn pero napahinto rin kami nang magsalita iyong si Bettina. If I'm not mistaken, she's one of the ASBO officers and the girl who threw me dagger before.

"Be careful with Caitlyn. She's not what she seems to be. Don't trust her easily." Saad nito. Ngumisi pa siya bago niya kami tuluyang iniwan.

Nagkatinginan kaming magkakaibigan matapos namin silang sundan ng tingin. In the end, we all heave a deep sigh.

Right now, we don't really know who to trust whether it's Caitlyn or that Bettina. It is really hard to trust anyone here in this place.