/7/
Enduring the System

---

THE SHADOWS of the old buildings in Castillo High began to stretch onto the campus grounds as the sun set slowly under the horizon's line. Iilan nalang ang mga estudyanteng nasa field habang naglalakad pabalik sa kanilang dormitory buildings ang anim na Campus Sleuths, visibly worried after their bump in with the student council president himself.

"Ann, what are we going to do?" Sera whispered worriedly to the Lobris girl who was walking briskly, hugging her folder and organizers.

Diretso lamang ang tingin ng dalaga na para bang nasa malayo ang iniisip.

Queenie too was catching up beside Ann, a hand on her duffel bag as she looked at her with the same look of concern.

"Saang lupalop ba ineexpect ni Enzo na makakakuha tayo ng active case? It's not like we can conjure a culprit out of thin air," the spectacled-eyed girl said, trying to make her sprints longer para makasabay ang dalawang kaibigan.

Right behind the girls were Jarrell and Quinn who were also talking both at once.

"Ann, look, pwede naman nating tanggapin 'yong isang case na may missing wallet habang naghihintay tayo ng mas maayos na case," Quinn offered from behind, but Jarrell stretched out his arm and placed a hand on his friend's chest signaling him to shut up.

"Pre sobrang nakakahiya sa buong student body kung magiging taga-hanap lang tayo ng mga nawawalang bagay. Edi sana hindi na tayo ginawang Campus Sleuths!" Jarrell reminded him, causing Quinn to sigh out loud while flailing his arms.

Sa likod ng lima ay makikita si Rein na naglalakad — merely a few steps behind them. His hands were in his pockets as he quietly observed the group, eyes focusing mostly on the rigid way that Ann squared her shoulders as she walked, as if she was on the brink of thin ice.

"Oh she's going to blow," Rein breathed out to himself, counting down inside his head.

"Then what the hell do you suggest we do Jarre—"

"Everybody, shut up!" Ann whirled around, her face hot and red as she faced her friends who immediately halted behind her like deer under headlights.

Medyo malapit na ang anim sa dormitory buildings ng campus. Fortunately for the six, they had stopped next to a street lamp as the skies grew significantly darker amidst their banter.

Rein let out a low whistle to break the silence, earning him a death glare from his rival.

With all the years he had been classmates and butting heads with Ann Lobris, he knew her well enough to know when the young lady would burst.

"Look, okay," Ann sighed in frustration, and Rein noticed her shoulders finally relaxing.

"We'll talk about this in tomorrow's meeting sa office. But for now, ang naiisip ko ay hatiin natin ang gawain," Ann said, one hand massaging the left temple of her forehead.

"Three of us would have to actively canvas for cases throughout the academe, while the other three will focus on recruiting new members for Org Week. Ayan, happy na ba?" Ann snapped before turning around sharply and walking once again towards the dormitories.

Napakurap ang apat habang mahinang napatawa si Rein, watching Ann walk up the steps towards the girls' dormitory building.

"Is it just me or parang mas lalong sumungit si Ann?" Quinn frowned before removing his eyeglasses to clean it.

"Give her a break," Rein said, flicking Quinn's forehead who cursed him. "Medyo swamped na rin kasi kaming ABM sa workload kaya nagpapatong-patong ang stress niya. I would be too if I had to study a field I disliked."

He then started walking as well, dahilan para sakanya naman malipat ang atensyon ng apat na nakakunot na ang noo.

"Wait a damn minute," Sera shook her head and waved her hands in disbelief.

"Did the Rein Maccio just defend Ann??" she asked, the four of them watching Rein as he walked towards the boys' dormitory room.

---

Whatever Rein Maccio said, he was right.

Ann had stayed up all night, burning the midnight oil as she poured over the lessons in her business and accountancy books in order to answer the worksheets given to them.

While the young girl had high grades in mathematics, this doesn't necessarily mean she was particularly gifted in the field.

To learn math, she had to work twice as hard — unlike Rein who made it seem like dealing with numbers was an effortless task.

Ito kasi ang waterloo na subject ng dalaga. She remembered when she was still in third grade, how she was one of the slowest students who can multiply numbers. To compensate, her parents shut her inside their house all summer, making her memorize the multiplication table and answering multiplication sheets until she could do it with her eyes closed.

She was never gifted with the subject, just extremely privileged to have tutors to teach her, parents who were strict enough to care, and an ego that she had to tend to as part of her perfect Lobris image.

In short, she wasn't a natural. She merely just kept trying.

Pasado ala una na natapos ng pag-aaral ang dalaga. She looked out her window to see that the campus grounds were eerily quiet, except for the occasional bristle of the trees swaying to the wind.

"I'm so tired," she murmured to herself, packing up for the night when she suddenly saw a shadow outside her window, running past from their dormitory building across the grass.

Agad na tumitig muli ang dalaga sa labas, frowning as she scrutinized the dark field.

There was no one in sight.

Napatigil saglit si Ann before cursing herself. "I'm so sleepy I might as well be hallucinating," she muttered, finally closing her curtains and heading to bed.

Though she had significant lack of sleep, Ann made sure to look and act like she was high on energy the next day. Hindi niya pwedeng ipakita sa buong mundo na napapagod rin siya katulad ng ibang tao. Her mother would always tell her to hide her weaknesses, because a Lobris was never one to show it.

"Alright, I need you guys alert if you want to keep our little club and office," Ann told her friends as she pulled the head chair at the conference table.

The six of them were already complete inside the CSO, and Ann decided it was time to designate the tasks at hand.

"Sera, Jarrell — since kayong dalawa ang may pinakaraming connections at may extroverted na personality, I think it's appropriate that you guys lead the recruitments. Make sure to only recruit people who can bring additional strengths to our organization, okay?" Ann said, staring at the two.

"Isama ko na rin sa inyo si Quinn. While you guys advertise our org in-person, Quinn can recruit more people through online," she added, and the technology whiz immediately gave a thumbs up.

"The rest of us: me, Maccio, and Queenie, will be the ones who'll search for interesting active cases."

She then nodded towards her rival. "Maccio, you're observant. Be sure to keep an eye out in the general student body for sketchy figures, or students that might be dealing with something. Baka pwede tayong makahanap ng case sa gano'n."

Rein hummed before raising a pen. "While I admire your appreciation for my observation skills, hindi ba matatagalan tayo sa proseso kung gano'n?" he asked, rubbing his chin. "If you want, I can research on already sketchy students — Jayson Lopez for example. There's a possibility that he might have assaulted other girls aside from Sera."

The mention of Jayson caused Sera to wince, prompting Jarrell to give Rein a warning look.

Ann stared at Rein, a bit annoyed that he had stepped her up once again.

"Fine, but don't come to me empty-handed," she frowned, causing Rein to scoff, offended that Ann would even imply him inadequate for such a job.

"Queenie, you'll have to focus on finding cases amongst the faculty and staff. Tutulungan ko si Maccio sa student body, but I'll focus on important organizations such as the student council and student publications. I'm sure they have some dirt that we can expose," she instructed before looking at each one of them.

"Now let's hope we have some progress by the end of August," Ann said under her breath, hoping that at least in org work, she could feel a bit more in control compared to her studies.

---

While Ann aimed for progress, it wasn't a word that Enzo would dare use or describe the new student council he was leading.

It has been a week since he and the new student council officers had been appointed during the turnover ceremony, where he was now tasked to holding the reigns of the highest student organization in the prestigious academy.

The thought that he was no longer just the deputy president, made him slightly nauseous at first. This was until he realized that this was the least of his concerns — especially now that he was ruling an almost DIWA-party led council, with a pesky Keira Suarez right beside him.

Currently, he was spending the luxury of peace and quiet in his new office, one that was larger than the room he spent most of his days as deputy president when they were still in junior high school.

As the new student council president, the first thing that he did was execute his ultimate plan in motion by getting a move on with his platform regarding student scholarships — hopefully expanding the scholarship offers to more students who didn't come from privileged backgrounds like 90% of the Castillians currently studying in the academe.

Kaya naman ay makikita sa taas ng desk ng binata ang listahan ng mga estudyanteng nag-apply for the Castillian scholarship last school year, and for this school year.

Right now though, Enzo was close to tearing the list out of frustration.

With an irritated sigh, he crossed out another name in the list before tossing the student's profile into the stack of the others who also applied for the scholarship.

"Another privileged ass applying for a scholarship!" he groaned in annoyance, scribbling his pen across the next name before throwing his pen down and leaning back into his chair in defeat.

Hindi makapaniwala ang binata. He knew that majority of his schoolmates were out of touch and insensitive to the plight of others, but he didn't realize that they were this detached from reality by applying for scholarships to obtain less finances, even when these applicants were clearly capable to fund their education in Castillo High and more.

It was like, rich students trying to get into state universities and filling up the slots that could be reserved for the less fortunate.

Napamasahe ang binata ng noo. There was a lot of work that he had to do if he wanted to change the existing system, and for some reason, he didn't know where to start.

Before he could decide what to do next for his scholarship program, bigla namang tumunog ang telepono na nasa itaas na kanang bahagi ng lamesa niya.

Enzo immediately picked it up. "Good afternoon, this is the student council president speaking. How may I help you?"

"Enzo!" a familiar female voice greetes back in a hushed tone. It was Francesca Martinez, the newly-elected PRO. She and Yenna were the only co-members of Enzo under the Liberal party that won in this year's student elections.

"Pwede bang lumabas ka muna diyan sa opisina mo? Keira is ordering us around like a spoiled brat expecting us to buy her lunch and coffee. Unti nalang uutusan na niya akong mag-pedicure sa kanya," Francesca ranted, enough for Enzo to let out another deep-seated sigh.

He had only been president for a week, but already he felt like he had aged thirty years.

"I'll be out in a few," he muttered before putting the phone down. Inayos nito muli ang kaniyang kurbata bago lumabas sa opisina, leading him into the space where the cubicles of the other elected officers were situated.

Pagkalabas niya ay agad na sinenyales siya ni Francesca mula sa telepono, her eyes flitting towards Keira who was sitting on her swivel chair, filing her nails.

Sakto naman na pumasok bigla sa loob ng opisina si Risa Bartolome, isang tenth grader na nanalo bilang deputy treasurer. May dala-dala itong plastic na may laman na dalawang cups of coffee from Spring Bean Cafe, which she placed delicately on Keira's desk.

The young girl paused from filing her nails and raised an eyebrow at Risa before getting a cup and taking a sip.

"Why does this have sugar? I strictly said no sugar diba? Do you want me to get acne?!" Keira snapped. She then pushed the cup back towards the deputy treasurer who seemed to have turned ashen white.

"Go back and give me my correct order," she demanded, leaning back into her chair to continue filing her nails.

"B-but—"

"Sweetie, I'm sure if you want to stay as deputy treasurer, you'll follow what I tell you to do," Keira responded by feigning a sweet, sarcastic tone.

"But I—"

"No one is following anyone who can't even buy their own coffee," Enzo interrupted coldly, stepping between the two.

He then gestured quietly to Risa to leave, the tenth grader shaking from fear and hesitance at first before scampering away.

"Boo Enzo," Keira said, not even looking up as she filed her nails away. "You're such a killjoy. You're probably the only leader I know who doesn't enjoy a little power tripping once in a while."

She then stopped and momentarily gave him a look. "I promise you it's fun. Try mo naman minsan."

"Listen up Keira," Enzo muttered, grabbing her by the arm and forcing her out of her seat.

"Ano ba?!"

"If you continue pulling this type of attitude, I'm afraid I have no choice but to tell Professor Sarmiento," he said in a steely voice.

"Tell me what, Enzo?"

Gulat na napalingon ang lahat sa may pintuan kung saan kakapasok lang ng kanilang head advisor na si Professor Roger Sarmiento.

"Sir Rog!" Keira cried, dahilan para bitawan agad ni Enzo ang dalaga. "Enzo was harassing me! Wala naman po akong ginagawa, sabi ko lang na ililibre ko po 'yong mga officers ng kape, tas umangal na siya kaagad."

Enzo's face contorted into confusion. "Sir no, allow me to explain. Keira here has been nothing but disruptive—"

The professor held out a palm, silencing the president.

"Enzo, namumula 'yong braso ni Keira," the teacher said, nguso nito sa direksyon ng vice president.

Sure enough, Enzo's hand print was visible on Keira's arm, showing the effect of his tight grip on her.

"Whatever the cause of your misunderstanding was, physically harming your female colleague is always uncalled for," Professor Sarmiento frowned.

"This will be your first warning Enzo. I know you're a good student. Show me that you're also a good leader," he then escorted Keira who was rubbing the red mark on her arm, a hand on her shoulder.

"Dadalhin ko lang sa clinic si Keira. I trust you won't be hurting more of your fellow officers while I'm away?" he asked, voice sharp and his gaze steady on the student council president who had turned red from embarrassment.

"Yes sir," Enzo said quietly, his lips sealed in a grim line.

"You better, Mr. Marasigan. The role of president is a heavy one. I trust you know how to command without laying a finger on any of your co-officers," the professor warned for the last time, before he gently guided Keira by the shoulder out of the office.

Nang nakaalis na ang dalawa ay pakiramdam ng binata na labing-dalawang taong gulang ulit ito — helpless and unmoving from where he was standing.

He could almost see Keira's face, smirking at him, glad to have won again.

Enzo's face heated up in anger.

"Get back to work everyone," he managed to muster, dahilan para gumalaw na ulit ang mga officers na inoobserba ang eksena kanina.

Sa ngayon ay hindi niya pa alam kung anong plano ang mayroon si Keira. But whatever it was, he knew he had to move his own piece on the board soon enough if he wanted to counter whatever sick game Keira had rigged the system into.

But Enzo wasn't the only one who had to move fast.

On the other end of the main building's hallway, Ann's high-pitched scream could be heard from inside the Campus Sleuths' office.

"What?? What is it?!" Sera demanded as the others turned to Ann who, a few minutes earlier, was reading the latest issue of the Castillian Gazette.

The Lobris heir immediately slammed the newspaper down on her desk, prompting the others to crowd around her.

"I swear I thought they removed this godforsaken rumors section in the Gazette," Ann said angrily, trying to calm herself down as Sera snatched the newspaper for her to see what Ann was going ballistic about.

"Oh my god," Sera blinked, dahilan para hablutin naman ni Rein ang newspaper at basahin ito, the other three peeking behind his shoulder.

Right there on the second to the last page, was the Gazette's Confessions of a Castillian section — the place where students could write their anonymous opinions, rants, and confessions on any matter.

Right now, the hottest topic in the section was none other than the sleuths themselves, and the "uselessness" of their organization.

Rita0689: Not to be a drag or anything, but the Campus Sleuths' establishment was one of the most questionable things ever. Like what do they even do in that little club? Have sex? It's not like there'll be another Cortez scandal to solve every goddamn month.

x_sea0w1tch_x: Convinced the Lobris and Maccio families somehow secretly connived and bribed Principal Lilia to make a detective club just so they can add to Ann Lobris' and Rein Maccio's already lengthy curriculum vitae. It's just a front to their centuries old family rivalry, I promise you all.

r2d2urock: Genuine question, is it a requirement to be hot and rich in order to be part of the Campus Sleuths? Because if yes, then count me the fuck in.

EmzC: Demanding the OSA to use the Campus Sleuths' office to a more useful and deserving purpose like perhaps, an animation club?

deedee2047: The CS is useless. One time I tried asking for help on my missing wallet and they told me to look at the lost and found. Like, fuck that. Para san pa kasi 'yong CS kung may Official Castillian Police naman na 'yong school?

sn0wq33n: Here's a penny to my thoughts: there was no objective reason to make a detective club in Castillo High. The Cortez case was just a one-time thing. Ano pang i-so-solve nila now that that case was done? World poverty?? Genuinely think Principal Lilia made a mistake.

"That's..." Rein frowned, reading the other entries.

"...bad!" Sera cried out. "This is bad publicity! We need to hire a PR or something!"

Rein clicked his tongue before shaking his head and rolling the issue. "Actually, what I was about to say was that this whole outburst is suspicious."

"What do you mean?" kunot-noong tanong ni Quinn, dahilan para kumibit-balikat ang binata.

"It's just odd. What are the chances na sabay-sabay silang nag-send ng anonymous entries expressing the uselessness of our org? It doesn't add up," Rein pointed out.

"Well, what if 'yon talaga ang general consensus ng student body since last March when we were established? Tas ngayon lang nilabas ng Gazette ang entries??" Queenie offered.

"Well whatever it is," Ann snapped, waving her hands to catch their attention. "We need to act fast. The negative entries will affect our reputation, especially our ability to take cases and recruit more members. So I suggest we start moving now habang hindi pa masyadong pinag-uusapan ng mga Castillians 'tong confessions na 'to," she ordered, immediately sending out new instructions.

For a moment, Ann could remember the "welcome to Castillo High" banner that greeted her on her first day of freshman year in high school — the day she entered the land of the prestige that taught students like her to pull each other down in lieu of cheesy values like teamwork.

It was in this particular freshman year that she, like all the other Castillians, had learned the hard, cold truth: playing by the rules weren't enough to survive inside the brick walls and iron gates of Castillo High — let alone in real life.

Instead, a Castillian had to endure the system — endure the last name and image that bore heavy weight on their backs, and endure the countless threats aimed at them like piercing arrows.

Unfortunately, not everyone can last under the rotten system. Some have no choice but to break.

And as Ann glanced back at the Gazette's latest issue, she silently prayed to the heavens she wouldn't become the latter.

---

NOTE: Hi sleuths! If you like this chapter, follow me on my social media accounts for more updates. You can freely message and post on my FB page, tweet your thoughts to me on Twitter, or show me your fan arts and favorite quotes on Instagram.

FB PAGE:
IsadoraQuagmire13 or @isadoraquagmire13
https://www.facebook.com/isadoraquagmire13/

INSTAGRAM:
@isadoraquagmire13
https://www.instagram.com/isadoraquagmire13/?hl=en

TWITTER:
@isa_quagmire
https://twitter.com/isa_quagmire?s=09

Remember to use the hashtags #TheEmpire and #TE aside from tagging me so that we can compile all TE-related posts!