Chapter 5: Deduction Showdown (First Match)

AMBER

 
I WOKE up late at muntik nang mahuli sa pagpunta namin sa TV station. Pero hindi naman na nila ako nagawang pagalitan because they knew I was against joining this show. I should have slept longer, cleaned my room, o ‘di kaya ay nag-stroll 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 back seat with Jeremy samantalang nasa passenger seat si Math na tila may-ari ng sasakyan. Siya na kasi ang nagkukusang kumalikot ng stereo at aircon imbes na si Gray.

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,” sabad ni Jeremy
at hinila pa ang buhok nito. Math squealed a bit ngunit hindi na nagreklamo dahil nauto na naman siya ni Jeremy. “Oo nga, ang ganda ng buhok mo, parang alagang natural oil kaya amoy copra!”

“Jeremy!” sigaw ni Math.

“Kumain na kami kanina, do you want to drop by sa fast-food para makakain ka?” pag-agap ni Gray sa akmang pagrarambulan ng dalawa.

“Drive thru na lang, a coffee will do,” sagot ko. Ayaw kong mas lalo pa kaming ma-late 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. . . . Pinigilan ko ang sariling mapangiwi.

“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.”
Ilang sandali pa ay nakarating na kami sa building ng TV station. Pagpasok namin, binati agad kami ni Sir Michael B. He introduced us to the staff na siyang naghatid naman sa amin sa holding area, nagpa-register, at nagbigay ng nameplate.

When we enter the holding area, dalawang grupo na ang naroon and apparently, hindi pa pala kami ang pinakahuling dumating. Kaya naman pasimple akong napangiwi. Sana pala, kumain ako.

We sat on the vacant seats at inilapag ko muna sa katabing upuan ang dala kong kape. Nang makaayos na ako ng upo ay hinawakan ko na ito. I silently observed the other teams.

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

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

“Sana lang, huwag ang QED Club,” Jeremy said.

Lahat kami ay napatingin sa kanya. “QED Club?”

“May nabasa kasi akong blog tungkol sa kanila, the writer is part of the club. I admit, I’m a fan of her blog. Base sa mga isinusulat 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 maaaring mabasa ng naka-witness sa pagkaka-encounter nila sa mga taong natulungan nila. If she sugarcoat her words on her blog, one would immediately react.”

I sighed as I silently observed the place. There were at least four teams who wanted to join the program. Ang isang grupo ay all-female group na naka-costume pa ng Sherlock Holmes outfit.

Others looked so confident and some were silently observing us too. Ilang sandali pa, pumasok ang panghuling grupo na sanhi ng pagbalot ng tensyon sa holding area. The other teams including Jeremy greeted them with a smile na ginawa rin naman ng mga bagong dating, except for the guy who has unkempt hair and lackluster eyes.

His dull eyes scanned the place. Mayamaya, 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 ‘to?

Napatingin ako kay Jeremy, he was busy on his phone. “Ano’ng 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.
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.”

Hindi na ako nakapagsalita. I thought of telling her to never underestimate people just by simply looking at them ngunit pinili ko na lang talagang manahimik.

Jeremy cleared his throat and mumbled something to me. “Maya talaga, mayabang.”

“Ano’ng sabi mo, Jeremy?” tanong sa kanya ni Math.

Jeremy immediately shook his head and smiled. “Sabi ko, mukhang mayabang ‘yong taong shih tzu, oh.” He even pointed his pouted lips toward the guy from QED Club na hindi man lang nakipagplastikan ng ngiti sa mga tao sa paligid.

“Ano’ng tawag mo sa kanya?” sabad ni Gray sa usapan namin.

“Taong shih tzu—I mean, look at his hair, ‘di ba mukha siyang shih tzu na walang grooming ng ilang buwan. If they win this competition, bibigyan ko siya ng razor, suklay, at pomade—”

“Jeremy!” saway ko sa kanya. But 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 mas abala pa ang mga staff at kumuha ng tig-iisang representative bawat grupo.
Jeremy volunteered to pick our opponent. Nang makabunot siya, agad siyang bumalik sa puwesto namin at ipinakita ang papel na may nakasulat na number ‘one.’

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

“Why? I think it’s better to crush them this early dahil gano’n 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 ipakita sa malaking screen ang maglalaban sa unang round, hindi ko naiwasang mapangiwi.

First match will be DETECTIVE TRIUMVIRATE PLUS ONE versus L.O.C.K. Sa second match naman, 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 started at dinala na kami ng staff sa studio. This was seriously nervewracking. The setup was like a typical game show. May round table sa magkabilang side at may nakahandang tablet PCs.

Naka-flash sa malaking LED screen sa likod ang pamagat na, ‘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!”

Itinutok sa amin isa-isa ang camera. Pagkatapos, bumaling na ang host sa L.O.C.K. at ipinakilala ang mga ito sa mga manonood. Ipinagbigay-alam din nito 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 ‘yon sa Sherlock, it’s their initials. The members are Leslie, Olga, Cara Marie, and Kath.

Nag-focus muli sa kanila ang camera. Kumaway-kaway sila at nagbigay ng matatamis at masisiglang mga ngiti.
“Okay, on the other side is Detective Triumvirate Plus One!” sabi ng host at nag-focus naman 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 lang naka-focus sa akin ang camera, malamang ay napangiwi na ako sa sinabi ng host. Wala tuloy akong ibang nagawa at nag-poker face na lang. I will really kill Jeremy later! When did he slip this nonsense description about us? Sigurado akong galing ‘yon sa kanya!

“On the base is no other Jeremy Martinez, in-charge of stimulation and motivating the group with his brainwrecking 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, tila hindi natuwa si Math sa introduction but still she smiled naturally at the camera. Among us, siya lang yata ang natural na natural tingnan sa monitor. Gray looked a bit tense while I looked stiffed, and Je’s overacting na tila ba ngayon lang nakakita ng camera sa buong buhay niya.

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

Both teams replied a nod at nag-flash sa malaking screen ang ‘Round 1.’

“Detectives, are you ready?”

“Ready!” sabay-sabay naming sagot.

Napatingin ang host sa kabilang team. “So, Olga ano’ng gusto mong maging kapag nakapagtapos ka?”

“Gusto kong maging CPA,” Olga replied.

“Wow, CPA! Gray, how about you?”

“I want to be a detective,” Gray replied nonchalantly.

“Wow! Detective! You’re on this show kaya malamang na 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.”

Nag-flash sa screen ang situation at sinimulan nang basahin ‘yon 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.

“Figure out her messages. Your twenty minutes 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 looked lost in his thoughts while writing and figuring out what the weird messages mean.
I tried to recall the ciphers Gray taught us but I couldn’t come up with anything. Maging si Jeremy ay tila wala ring naisip.

“Baka galing sa future ‘tong si Doris at ganyan ang paraan ng pagsusulat nila,” walang kuwentang sabi ni Jeremy.

“Jeremy, 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 niya ‘yon gagawin— kaya meron ding mapa!”

We got lost in analyzing the messages at gano’n 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 kaya ang kanyang mga mensahe?
Mayamaya, nag-angat ng tingin si Math mula sa pagkakatitig sa papel at saka 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,” Gray answered.
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 a reply and checked his notes bago ipinaalam sa staff na na-decode 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 we will arrange the letters, we will come up with KeYboard and that supports the cipher we came up with. The map gave us UP street; meaning, she used the keyboard pattern. Shift the letters up to code the messages kaya kailangan nating i-shift down para malaman ang ibig sabihin n’on.

“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 are:

“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 ibig sabihin ng mensahe. Ilang sandali pa, may sumabog na confetti sa amin at tila batang nilaro-laro ‘yon 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 Jeremy. “I read in the blogs na ibang level ang club president nila. I’m sure he will show off later.”

“No, he didn’t,” sagot ko na hindi inaalis ang tingin sa malaking screen na nasa harap namin. Abala ang tatlo sa kanilang discussion kung paano i-solve ang code samantalang wala man lang ni katiting na ipinakitang 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.”

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