AMBER

I WOKE up late at muntik nang mahuli sa pagpunta namin sa TV Station. Hindi na rin nila ako pinagalitan dahil doon because they knew I was against joinging this show in the first place. I should have slept longer, cleaned my room o 'di kaya ay nag-stroll ako sa paligid ng Bridle High kasama ang aso kong si Filter.

"Did you have breakfast already?" tanong ni Gray sa akin mula sa rearview mirror. I'm on the backseat with Jeremy samantalang nasa passenger seat si Math at tila may-ari ng sasakyan. She even turned on the stereo gayong si Gray ang may-ari ng sasakyan.

I made a face. "Wala nga akong oras para magsuklay, kumain pa kaya?"

"You should always comb your hair Amber, it's a woman's crowning glory. Look at my hair－"

"Patingin nga ng buhok mo Maya," sabi ni Je at hinila ang buhok nito. Math squealed a bit ngunit hindi na nagreklamo dahil nato na naman siya ni Jeremy. "Oo nga, ang ganda ng buhok mo, parang alagang natural oil kaya amoy copra!"

"Jeremy!"

"Kumain na kami kanina, do you want to drop by sa fastfood para makakain ka?" tanong ni Gray bago pa magrambulan sina Math at Je sa loob ng sasakyan.

"Drive thru na lang, a coffee will do," sagot ko. Ayaw kong mas lalo pa kaming malate dahil baka nasa amin ang atensyon ng lahat pagdating. Isa pa, baka kami na lang ang wala roon, nakakahiya naman.

On our way ay tinanong ko sila kung may ideya ba sila kung paano gagawin ang palabas. Math flipped her hair and looked at me with her brow raised. "You didn't research Amber?"

Obviously, I mentally said at pinigilan ang sariling ngumiwi.

"It has two rounds, elimination and the final round. Maybe the Filipino adaptation added flavor to it so we can expect more. Isa pa, number one TV Station ang BNC-12 so we have to be ready that the game is grand."

Nang makarating kami sa network studio ay binati kami ni Sir Michael B na naroon. He introduced us to the staff na siyang naghatid sa amin sa holding area at pinaregister at binigyan ng nameplate. When we enter the holding area ay may dalawang grupo na ang naroon. I hide my frown. Apparently, hindi pala kami ang huli. Sana pala ay kumain pa ako. We st on the vacant seat at inilapag ko ang dalang kape, silently observing the other teams with us.

Mukhang lahat sila ay excited na sa mangyayari. Some were giving us warm smiles while others are watching us with hawk eyes na para bang malalaman nila ang kakayahan namin sa pamamagitan lamang ng pagtingin.

"I wonder what the other team are like," sambit ni Gray.

"Sana lamang ay huwag ang QED Club," Je said.

"QED Club?" lahat kami ay napatingin sa kanya.

"May nabasa akong blog tungkol sa kanila, the writer is part of the club. Actually I'm a fan of her blogs, base sa mga sinusulat niya they solved a lot of cases－well, that if she isn't sugarcoating her words."

"Why would she?" tanong ni Gray. "It's a blog na maaring mabasa ng iba na nakawitness sa mga kasong na-encounter nila. If she sugarcoat her words on her blog, one would have stepped at pinasinungalingan ang mga sinusulat niya."

I sighed as I silently observed the place. There were at least four teams who wanted to join the program. Isang grupo ay all-female group na naka-costume pa ng Sherlock Holmes outfit. The others looks so confident and some were silently observing us too. Hindi kalaunan ay pumasok ang panghuling grupo na sanhi ng pagbalot ng tensyon sa holding area. The other teams including Jeremy greeted them with a smile at ganoon din ang ginawa ng bagong dating, except for the guy who has unkempt hair and lackluster eyes. His dull eyes scanned the place at may sinabi siya sa kanyang mga kasama na siyang dahilan ng pagkawala ng ngiti sa amin ng kasama nilang babae na naka-braid ang buhok. Now two of them aren't smiling at us. Masyado naman yata nilang sineseryoso ang kompetisyong ito.

Nang mapatingin ako kay Jeremy, he was busy on his phone. "Anong ginagawa mo?" tanong ko.

"I think they're the QED Club," he whispered.

"They don't have a chance against us," I heard Math said from my side. Kahit kailan talaga, punong-puno siya ng confidence sa katawan.

"How could you say so?" I asked, raising a brow at her.

She smiled confidently, "Simply because we have Gray on our team, and of course, me."

I want to tell her no never underestimate people because we cannot determine abilities by simply looking at them ngunit pinili ko na lamang manahimik. Jeremy cleared his throat an mumbled something.

"Maya talaga, mayabang," he said as he handed us our name tags.

"Anong sabi mo Jeremy?" tanong sa kanya ni Math.

Je immediately shook his head with a smile. "Sabi ko mukhang mayabang 'yong taong shih tzu oh." He even pointed his pouted lips towards the guy from the QED Club na hindi man lamang nakipagplastikan ng ngiti sa mga tao sa paligid.

"Anong tawag mo sa kanya?" sabat ni Gray sa usapan namin. He already attached his name tag to the side of his shirt.

"Taong shih tzu, I mean look at his hair, diba mukha siyang shih tzu na walang grooming ng ilang buwan. If they win this competition, bibigyan ko siya ng razor, suklay at pomade--"

"Je!" saway ko sa kanya. He just made a face and acted like he zipped his mouth.

"It looks like the elimination round is about to start," wika ni Math nang mapansing naging abala ang mga staff at kumuha ng tig-isang represenative bawat grupo. Jeremy volunteered to pick our opponent. Nang makabunot siya ay agad siyang bumalik sa pwesto namin at ipinakita ang papel na may lamang number "one."

"Buti na lang hindi nabunot ng QED Club ang isa pang number one!" he said with a smile.

"Why? Think it's better to crush them this early dahil ganoon din naman ang mangyayari kung sakaling umabot man sila sa finals," mayabang na wika ni Math. "Kidding! I know they will be worthy opponents."

Nang ipinakita sa malaking screen ang maglalaban sa unang round ay hindi ko maiwasang mapangiwi. First mathc will be DETECTIVE TRIUMVIRATE PLUS ONE VERSUS L.O.C.K. Sa second match naman ay ang DETEC-TEAM VERSUS QED CLUB. We could have chosen a less embarrassing name. I bet some are thinking how stupid our name is.

The competition immediately start at dinala kami ng staff sa studio. This is seriously nerve-wrecking. The setup was like a typical game show. May round table sa bawat side at may nakahandang tablet PCs. Naka-flash sa malaking LED screen sa likod ang mga salitang "Whose Deduction Show?"

When the cameras started rolling, magiliw na bumati ang host. "Good morning, mga Kapamilya sa Puso! Ngayon ay masasaksihan na ninyo ang pinakabagong game show ng bansa! I'm Damian Domingo and welcome to Whose Deduction Show!

Tumutok sa amin isa-isa ang camera habang pinapakilala kami. Unang pinakilala ang L.O.C.K at pinagbigay-alam ng host na ang origin ng pangalan nila ay mula sa Sherlock. They chose to name their team as L.O.C.K. dahil maliban sa galing iyon sa Sherlock, it's their initials. The members are Leslie, Olga, Cara Marie and Kath. Nag-focus sa kanila ang camera. They waved and smiled at the camera.

"Okay, on the other side is Detective Triumvirate Plus One!" sabi ng host at nagfocus na sa amin ang camera. "Their team is represented by a Triangle. The apex is Gray Ivan Silvan who is the member on top when it comes to deductions! On the middle is Amber Sison, Gray's right hand and heart!"

Kung hindi lamang nakafocus sa akin ang camera, malamang napangiwi na ako. I didn't hide my irritation at nag-poker face lamang. I will really kill Jeremy later! When did he slip this nonsense description about us? Sigurado akong galing iyon sa kanya!

"On the base is no other Jeremy Martinez, the in-charge of stimulation and motivating the group with his brain-wrecking quizzes!" Jeremy waved at the camera at tila proud na proud pa. "And the Plus Member, Mathilde Corazon! Ladies and gentlemen, again sila ang Detective Triumvirate Plus One!"

Gaya ko ay tila hindi atuwa si Math sa introduction but still she smiled naturally at the camera. Among us, siya lang yata ang natural na natural tignan sa monitor. Gray looked a bit tense, I looked stiffed; and Je's overacting na tila ba ngayon lamang siya nakakita ng camera sa buong buhay niya.

"For this round, you will be asked to crack a code. Ang unang team na makapagbibigay ng tamang sago tang siyang tutuloy sa susunod na round. Kapag wala sa inyong nakakuha ng tamang sagot, you will be both eliminated from the game. May twenty minutes kayo to crack the code. Understood?"

Both teams replied a nod at nagflash sa malaking screen ang salitang "Round 1."

"Detectives, are you ready?"

"Ready!" magkasabay na sagot ng dalawang team.

Napatingin ang host sa kabilang team. "So, Olga anong gusto mong maging kapag nakapagtapos ka?"

"Gusto kong maging CPA," Olga replied.

"Wow, CPA! So Gray, how about you?"

"I want to be a detective," Gray replied nonchalantly.

"Wow! Detective! You're on this show kaya malamang malaki ang potential mong maging detective! Now someone who needs your help to crack some codes is an aspiring Data Analyst! So here's the code for you to break."

Naka-flash sa screen ang sitwasyon at binasa iyon ng host. "Doris Santos is an IT student who keeps on posting some weird messages on her SNS. The messages are addressed to Kobe Yard but none of these messages are comprehensible. Here are some examples of her messages and a map she left behind.

Dear Kobe Yard,

5y3 t76w q5 wdy99o 5y8hi 8'j 2384e w9 h9h3 9r 5y3j 2qh5w 59 g3 r483hew 285y j3.

Dear Kobe Yard,

3f3h j6 rqj8o6 574h3e 5y384 gqdi 9h j3. jq6g3 85'w 58j3 r94 j3 59 t9.

Dear Kobe Yard,

8 qj t98ht 59 i8oo j6w3or. 8r w9j3h3 43qoo6 dq43w, 0o3qw3 d9j3 qhe wqf3 j3 g3r943 5y3 g3oo dy8j3w.

"Figure out her messages. Your one hour starts now!"

Agad na sumubsob sa mesa ang kabilang team upang ma-decode ang nasa screen. I sighed and looked at my companion who's serious in joining this competition. Like the usual, Gray looks lost in his thoughts as he keeps writing down on his small notebook, trying to figure out what the weird messages mean. I tried to recall the ciphers Gray thought us but I couldn't come up with anything. Maging si Je ay tila wala ring naisip kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng mga post ni Doris Santos.

"Baka galing si future 'tong si Doris at ganyan ang paraan ng pagsusulat nila," walang kwentang sabi ni Jeremy.

"Je, you're not making any sense," Math said. "Maybe Kobe Yard is a person, or the police just like Scotland Yard, the metonym for London police."

"Aha! Tama ka Math, maybe he addressed it to the police," sabi ni Jeremy. "What if this Doris is a psychopath and she sent coded messages to Kobe Yard which we can assume as the police to tell them about her plan! If we can decode the messages, malalaman natin kung sino ang balak niyang patayin at kung saan kaya mayroon ding mapa!"

We got lost in analyzing the messages at ganoon din ang kabilang grupo. Was it really that way? It's safe to assume the map was given for us to locate whatever the messages mean pero may papatayin nga ba si Doris at para sa mga police ang kanyang mga messages? Mayamaya nag-angat ng tingin si Math mula sa kanyang papel at bumaling kay Gray. "Got anything?"

"Kobe Yard is an anagram, not the name she used to address the police. Her messages were for anyone who can decode it, and Kobe Yard is the clue."

Napangiti si Math. "So, if Kobe Yard is an anagram, we can arrange Kobe Yard as Keyboard. She's an IT student and it's sensible if we think that way!"

He nodded as reply and checked his notes bago ipinaalam sa staff na nadecode na niya ang messages, making the other team drop their jaws in amazement when he pressed the buzzer.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Detective Triumvirate pressed the buzzer first! Let's hear their deduction and if they got it wrong L.O.C.K. has the chance to steal."

Gray confidently fixed his collar before he started his deduction. "If you arrange the letters, you will come up with keyboard and that supports the cipher I came up with. The map gives us UP street so it means she use the keyboard pattern, shift the letters up to code the messages kaya kailangan nating i-shift down para malaman ang ibig sabihin niyon."

"So if we use the qwerty keyboard, shifting up to code...

Q=1 W=2 E=3 R=4 T=5 Y=6 U=7 I=8 O=9 P=0

A=Q S=W D=E F=R G=T H=Y J=U K=I L=O

Z=A X=S C=D V=F B=G N=H M=J

Then the messages meant:

Dear Kobe Yard,

The guys at school think I'm weird so no none of them wanted to be friends with me.

Dear Kobe Yard,

Even my family turned their back on me. Maybe it's time for me to go.

Dear Kobe Yard,

I am going to kill myself. If someone really cares, please come and save me before the bell chimes."

"Doris will be committing suicide at the church, as what her last message implies."

Manghang-mangha naman ang kabilang team dahil sa maikling panahon na napagtanto ni Gray ang ibg sabihin ng mensahe. Ilang sandali ay may sumabog na confetti sa amin at tila batang nilaro-laro iyon ni Jeremy. What is he, six-year old kid?

"Congratulations," wika ng host. "Detective Triumvirate Plus One made it to the next round of the competition! Let's give it up for Detective Triumvirate Plus One!"

The host said na susunod na ang maglalaro sa pangalawang round kaya matapos makipagkamay sa aming kalaban ay umalis na kami sa studio. We meet the next players on our way back at hindi nakaligtas sa paningin ko ang kakaibang tingin ng ibang team. They must be observing us silently dahil alam na nila kung sino ang makakalaban nila sa susunod na round.

Dinala kami ng host sa holding area kung saan namin nakikita ang nangyayari sa studio.

"So the other team is watching us, huh?" Math said. "Who do you think will win?"

"Obviously, the QED Club," sagot ni Je. "I read in the blogs na ibang level ang Clu President nila. I'm sure he will show off later."

"No, he didn't," sagot ko na hindi inaalis ang malaking screen sa harap namin. Abala ang tatlo sa kanilang discussion kung paano i-solve ang code samantalang wala man lang ni katiting na pinakitang interes ang isa sa dalawang lalaki. Isn't he the president of their club?

From my peripheral, I saw Gray let out a smirk. "So they're not letting all their cards in the table huh? I guess we will be facing the QED Club for the final round. This will be interesting."

∆+1