⎯⎯ Elize Pulls a Beverly Marsh
So now I was in the tiny grade school library. Actually, it was bigger than the high school's library, but it just didn't have books I was interested in.
The Dana Girls was interesting, and so was the Boxcar Children series. Stuff like The School for Good and Evil was really intriguing, too, but it just wasn't my type. I loved the Magician's Nephew, but I already finished the series when I was 10. There were also some books that were wonderful but didn't come with the rest of the books, and that made me sad.
After giving over my library card, I looked for the Mythic Monsters book that was everyone's favorite. Seriously, it was the only book that the boys in my class ever held. Well, most of them, anyway.
I had already memorized most of this. Ladon, from Greek Mythology, slain by Hercules, The Sphinx, from Egyptian Mythology, Smaug, from the Hobbit Series by J.R.R. Tolkien, the Basilisk from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. I shut the heavy book and put it back, sighing. I quickly left the stuffy room.
My backpack and lunchbox were sitting on the shelf where I had left them. I picked up my backpack and left my lunchbox, deciding I would get it later.
In the empty hallway, no one else was there. I stood on the black and white tiles while the shouts from upstairs echoed on the walls painted blue. Someone yelped up in the gym, and I recognized that voice. Elize.
A teacher descended the stairs and I asked if Elize was up there. My teacher said yes. She was up there, alright, but she wasn't playing.
Aerron and Philip were there, too. They held badminton rackets. I hoped Elize could move properly because on Tuesdays, we would wear our regular uniform with skirts. Something was flying above their heads and they were tying to hit it.
I put my bag down. "Uh...sis?" Right when I said that, the thing that looked like a bird got close to Elize's face and she screamed.
"Pasok!" ("Get inside!") Aerron threw my bag at me, pushed Elize and Philip into the girls' bathroom and gestured for me to join them. Philip yanked me inside and Aerron shut the door.
"Aray ko! Masakit," I rubbed the part of my neck where my blouse collar had scratched it. ("Ow! That hurts.") I turned to Elize. "You okay?"
She had two red lines on her forehead. "Mhm."
The bathroom light was weak so the afternoon sunlight beat through the plastic door. The room was decently big, so that all four of us could move freely. There was a small mirror, a sink, and of course a toilet. The sound of our breathing bounced off the pink walls.
"Diana. Do you know..."
"Don't ask me." I shut my eyes.
"This is the last time. You have to own your own weapon or something after this," Aerron warned.
"So they're real? They're actually real now? Damn it," Elize muttered as the door shuddered with whatever was outside.
"Fucking shit," I said under my breath. RenRen was right. But I'm not gonna go into detail for that.
Philip held his hand up. "Okay, okay, but we have to get out of here first. Why are we acting like we're in a falling elevator?"
I could almost feel everyone relax and I would have laughed if not for the dark room, awkwardness and panic. Also because my backpack was on the crusty dusty bathroom floor. "That was..."
"Stupid."
"Awkward."
"Weird."
"Yeah, so what now? Use the badminton things?"
Philip shook his head. "No. You'll miss too easily."
"Ako?" ("Me?") I joked, pointing to myself.
"It's an example, Diana," Aerron scolded.
I rolled my eyes. "It's a joke, Aerron," I shot back.
"Okay, chill," Elize told me. "They might cut through the things, too."
I raised my hand. "Wait, ano ba yung mga yun?" ("Wait, what are those things in the first place?")
"Birds with...something, I don't know. They're not completely birds. And there are two."
"Like a hybrid?"
She nodded. I saw Philip's reflection in the mirror and looked away. "How about that?" I pointed at it.
"Okay, let's go." Elize took it from the wall and went for the door, but Aerron stopped her.
"The CCTVs," He said. "They could see us."
The door shook and a tiny dent appeared in the plastic. I stared at the ground. "We need a distraction. Or...yeah, something like that."
Silence. Then Aerron spoke up and pointed at me and Philip. "Woah. I can see the gears turning in your heads."
"They watch the CCTVs from the office. We're not gonna risk cutting wires but maybe we can..." He muttered something in Korean, then asked Aerron what it was in English. Aerron shook his head and held out a hand in confusion. "I forgot." He made a pulling motion with his hand and gave up.
"Uh...we have to—" Aerron glanced at Philip. "—trip over a cord hard enough so that it comes out? Of the socket?"
"Yes. Thanks. Um, who has their phone?" Philip asked. I went to my bag and took out my phone. My mind must have been wandering, though, because when he asked for my number I stepped back and laughed nervously. Aerron did his part and pulled his phone out of the front pocket of his black hoodie.
I frowned. "How does that not fall out?"
"Who's going to the office?"
Elize shook her head. She seemed excited to use the mirror.
"Ikaw," Aerron told Philip. ("You.")
"Me?! Why?"
"Marunong kang magpa-cute," Aerron shrugged. ("You know how to seem cute.")
"...Fine. So we'll use these as walkie-talkies. That's what you call them, right?"
I grinned. "Like a Two-Way Mirror."
"How?" Elize asked. Another dent showed up in the door and she stepped away. We were wasting time.
"We'll keep one phone on loudspeaker so when the CCTVs are out you have to say a code word or something. Then Elize can beat the shit out of those things. Did I get it right?" I asked.
Philip nodded. "For how I'm gonna go downstairs, though..." He trailed off.
Aerron stared at the door as if he could see through it. I was about to ask him if he had X-Ray Vision or something, but he spoke before I could. "If we're lucky, those things won't notice you. I mean, a lot of people were outside but they only noticed us when we were looking out the window and sticking the rackets out. I'm not done yet, Diana, put your hand down. So, when we start the call, open the door and when they see us we wait until they chase us."
"Again," Elize added.
He nodded. "Again. Then when—pag hinabol na kami, bumaba ka na. Magsabi ka ng 'Okay na' para mabuksan namin yung pinto para, you know—" ("When we're getting chased, go down. Then say 'it's okay' so we can open the door—")
"So Elize can beat the shit out of them," I finished.
He glared at me. "Can you not interrupt?"
"Can you not be so sungit?"
Philip sighed. "Stop it, you two. Ready?" He dialed my number on Aerron's phone and since Aerron only trusted him to borrow it, it was the one Philip kept with him. He put mine on loudspeaker and opened the door.
Oh my God, those things were bigger than I thought. There were only two like Elize said, but they were both twice the size of my hand. Each of them looked like the usual Maya bird, but the place where the head was supposed to be was warped and something stuck out of it. I didn't get a closer look, though, for Elize said, "Let's go!"
As expected, they went in the bathroom and we were able to escape by ducking and running. Aerron tried closing the door on them but the other thing was still free, and I pulled him into the boys' showers.
Only Elize and Aerron were here, and I didn't hear any yelling or rushed footsteps, so Philip had probably gone downstairs.
My hand hurt and there was a long pink line along the back of my palm like something had scratched it. I looked at the sharp, cracked, plastic doorframe then back to my hand. "Fuck."
"Fuck indeed." Aerron's voice drowned out the thumps and tiny screeches from outside our door for a while, but only for a while. He stared at my phone while Elize stood beside him. He looked up at me. "Mahina yung signal dito." ("The signal's weak here.")
"Don't hang up, keep listening," Elize said.
The sound was garbled and unclear. The birds didn't make it any better. There was someone in the office; I could understand a few words and a random excuse Philip must have made up.
Then out of the speaker came a weird sound, like when you're taking a video and you drop your phone. A snippet of Philip's nervous laughter rang out, then words.
"O...y na."
Elize and I locked eyes and I opened the door right as another dent appeared. Elize grunted and something fell on the ground. When Aerron and I stumbled out, she held a cracked mirror and two unmoving lumps lay on the floor. I dropped the call with Philip and took a picture of the creatures when neither of them were looking. Just in case.
Elize put the creatures in the farthest stall and Aerron put the mirror back, pressing the broken pieces back together as best as he could. I pressed the dents back into shape. After that, I went straight downstairs. No one tried to stop me.
I met Philip on the second floor. "That was the coolest shit I've ever done." He grinned. "I feel like a spy."
Aerron and Elize arrived, too. Aerron turned to me. "That's the last time—"
"—You're doing it for us and we need weapons. Yeah, I know. Plus, Elize did the thing—" I mimicked swinging motions in the air, "—and not you."
"Good that you know. Jeez. I have an extra bolo at home, so if Elize wants it..."
"Give that to Mia," Philip suggested.
Elize sat on the railing. "I have a katana at home but it's dirty."
Aerron nodded then pointed to me. I stepped back. "You go with Laurence."
"Siya?! Ayoko nga!" ("Him?! I don't want to!")
Philip smirked."Anong nangyari sa inyo?" ("What happened between you two?")
"Malamang nagka-LQ," Elize said. ("They probably had an LQ.")
I pretended to gag. "LQ? Yuck." Someone called my name downstairs and said my school bus was here.
"January 7. McDonald's at 5:30. Don't be late," Aerron told us in a low voice.
"What, are you feeling like you're in a movie now?" I asked.
He glared at me. "Shut up."
I gasped, smiling. "Oh my God. Do you find me annoying?"
"Yes! Very much. A lot."
"Ouch." I put a hand on my chest, pretending to be hurt. "Anyway, that's wonderful. I always promised myself I'd annoy you if I ever meet you. Bye, love you, sis. Happy birthday!"
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro