An Invitation

YSABELL'S POV

Tara Yareli is the vice president of the Executive Committee of our University. That explains kung bakit nagkaroon siya ng access sa audio visual room.

"Tara?! Anong kagagahan 'to?!" a voice of a girl from the crowd echoes, probably her best friend because I can sense the frustration in her tone, it's between confusion and pity.

Tara shuts her eyes and tried to hide herself from the light using her arms, but she failed, her identity was already exposed.

"Jade, kung hindi ako kikilos, hindi magbabago ang trato sa 'tin ng school na 'to!" sigaw ni Tara pabalik sa babae.

Idinuro nito ang stage habang sinasabi ang mga katagang 'yon at nabigla ako nang mabilis na sinabunutan niya ang kaniyang sarili saka siya tuluyang napasalampak sa sahig na tila ba nababaliw na.

I can now hear her sobs, this looks like a drama, like it's part of the event, except that it isn't.

"Hindi mo mababago ang school system Tara. Kaya please..." she takes a deep breath while trying to stop herself from crying. "...bumaba ka na riyan." tuluyan nang kumawala ang hikbi sa mga labi niya. The other spotlight finds Jade's location, now it really looks like a genuine teledrama.

"Jade..." she lowers her head, "...pinaghihirapan ni mama 'yung tuition ko rito, halos magkanda-kuba na siya kakatrabaho maghapon."

Rinig ng lahat ang impit na mga pag-iyak ni Tara.

"Pero bakit ganito 'yung trato nila sa 'tin?! Bakit ang unfair pagdating sa mga tanginang 'to!" Tara points out her finger to someone, one of the gifted students for sure.

"Pero wala tayong magagawa Tara-"

"Meron! Kapag narinig nila ang sikretong matagal nang tinatago ng eskwelahang 'to, kahit gaano pa sila katanga, alam kong aalsa sila!" sigaw ni Tara. She looks like she's slowly losing a grip of herself. She's getting insane.

She stands up and she almost stumble, maybe because of tiredness. Alam kong matagal niyang pinlano 'to. And now is the best timing for her. No school officers are in the University because of Director's-

"They are murderers!" sigaw niya na naging dahilan para mapasinghap ang karamihan sa mga estudyante.

I remain calm, but I later decided to speak out, I want to end this stupidity as early as possible.

"So are you," saad ko sa seryosong tono. I can feel that Noah touches my back and he's trying to calm me.

I give him a reassuring nod. The spotlight almost made me flinch when it touches my face, I swear I'm going to screw Agnes later.

Tara's eyes widens a bit, but she maintains her posture. She's trying to look brave, but her trembling knees says the otherwise.

"A-ano?" pumiyok pa siya at mapapansin na ang takot sa boses niya.

Nagsimulang umusbong ang mahihinang mga bulungan. Some students are murmuring that she deserves what she's facing right now because she messed with the school system pero ang iilan naman ay naaawa sa kaniya.

"Don't you think it's ironic? You tried to kill the director and here you are, convincing everyone to hate this school because according to you, they are murderers. How pathetic." I cross my arms. I can almost picture Leighton's face in my head while telling me how stupid I am for saying this.

"Pinagbibintangan mo ba ako?!" she yells at me with rage and she steps forward towards my direction.

Didn't I already tell you that I hate being belittled?

I cock my head to make her insanely mad at me. "Who d'you think did this then? Lapu-Lapu?" I didn't bother to raise my eyebrows at her, she's a waste of my time.

"Aba gago ka ah!" muntik na siyang sumugod sa akin pero pinigilan niya ang sarili niya.

If a gifted student like me got hurt and decided to leave this school, we all know that the university will do everything just to make her suffer in her lifetime. And no one wants to experience that.

"Hindi ko siya nilason, babae!" sigaw niya sabay duro sa akin.

"Kwento mo sa pagong," bulalas ng isang lalaki sa 'di kalayuan at nagsimula na namang magtawanan ang mga estudyante. They're trying to forget what Tara just said.

They're pretending to be blind again.

She shifts her head to the other direction. "Jade, huwag mong sabihing naniniwala kang ako ang lumason sa Director? Alam mong hindi ko magagawa 'yun-" Jade's trembling voice stops her.

"Stop it Tara, just- just stop. Itigil mo na 'tong kabaliwang 'to-"

"So naniniwala ka nga sa inaakusa nila ha?! Jade, kilala mo 'ko, hinding-hindi ko magagawa 'yung ganung klaseng bagay." Tara starts sobbing again. What a crybaby.

"Base sa nakikita ko ngayon, I don't think I still know you, Tara." Jade sniffs.

"J-jade..." sawang-sawa na akong marinig ang nakaririnding mga pag-iyak niya.

May mga natawa at ang ilan nama'y naglakad na palabas ng auditorium habang minumura ang ngayo'y humihikbing si Tara.

The lights in the auditorium flickers, namataan ko sa 'di kalayuan sina Leighton kasama ang iba pang mga gifted student at malapit lang sila kay Jade.

When Jade starts walking outside the auditorium, Tara raises her head.

"J-jade..."

Jade's shoulders goes up and down, then she turns her gaze to Tara. Her eyes are now filled with tears that she failed to hide.

"Hindi ko naman gustong gawin 'to," she sniffs and tears are flowing continuously from her eyes.

"Then what made you do it?" asks Jade as she wipes her tears away, pretending she doesn't give a damn but she's unendingly sniffling.

"Someone. Someone told me the other secret of the school and it made me realize that I should do something to stop this shit."

My eyebrows furrow.

Someone?

Who?

Jade's eyes gleam with hope. "S-sino? Maybe we can tell the school about that person's identity and, and maybe it could help you get out of this mess. Please, Tara, who urged you to do this?" Jade pleads and we all wait for her response.

But she didn't get the chance to.

Because someone quickly shoots her from the back.

Someone who's in the backstage.

A gunshot echoes in the entire auditorium. Everyone stops from breathing from what they just witnessed. My eyes rapidly turn into balls as I saw Tara.

Unti-unting tumulo ang kaniyang sariling dugo mula sa butas ng kaniyang noo.

Nang mahimasmasan ako ay mabilis akong bumitaw sa kamay ni Noah at patakbong tinahak ang daan patungo sa backstage ng auditorium.

I saw that Leighton is also running from the other direction. I give him a signal by nodding at him that he got in just a second. Tinanguan niya rin ako bilang tugon at mas binilisan niya pa ang pagtakbo niya.

From my peripheral vision, nakita kong napasalampak na lang sa sahig si Jade kasabay ng pagbagsak ng ulo ni Tara sa stage at ang pagtulo ng dugo mula rito.

Rinig ko ang mga pagsinghap at ang paghagulgol ng nagdadalamhating si Jade. Sinubukan siyang aluhin ng iilang mga estudyanteng nakapaligid sa kaniya pero alam kong matagal niyang daramdamin ang nasaksihan niya ngayon. Ang iba nama'y agad nang tumawag ng tulong sa telepono at nagsimula nang magkagulo sa loob ng auditorium.

Jade just witnessed her best friend being murdered in front of her eyes.

But that's not my business. I need to find out who's the person behind all of this chaos.

That someone Tara was talking about.

Who might have killed her.

Since the backstage has two doors, we need to reach both of them before the culprit gets his way out. Whoever that person is, I know he won't risk being caught by sneaking into the stage. Tanging ang dalawang pintuan lang sa backstage ang natitirang pag-asa niya upang hindi siya mahuli.

Mas binilisan ko pa ang paghakbang ng aking mga paa. My heart is beating rapidly, not because of tiredness, but because I'm afraid.

What if he has a gun? What the fuck Ysabell? Of course he has one! That's what he used to kill Tara a second ago!

I hear Noah's voice behind, he's roaring out my name, telling me that I should stop meddling with this.

But I didn't listen to him.

I wasn't born to obey rules.

I create rules.

Hindi ako nagpatinag sa lakas ng kabog ng aking dibdib. Binalewala ko rin ang walang humpay na pagtawag ni Noah sa aking pangalan. I run rapidly that I can almost feel my body disassembling.

Nang makarating ako sa tapat ng pintuan ay mabilis kong hinawakan ang doorknob nito. I'm not that stupid para basta-basta na lang pumasok at sugurin ang may armas na kriminal. So I scan the area first.

My eyes gleam when an umbrella catches my gaze.

This will hopefully help.

Subukan niya akong barilin, itatarak ko talaga sa leeg niya 'to.

Huminga ako nang malalim at hinigpitan ang hawak sa doorknob, tila lahat ng lakas ng loob ko kanina ay unti-unti nang naglalaho. I don't wanna die yet, but I need to satisfy my curiosity.

The moment that I'm about to twist the handle, it opens alone.

I take a rapid step back and I saw Leighton, running out of breath.

He puts his hands on his knees as he struggles to breathe. "Why... are you so... slow?!" sigaw niya sa akin habang naghahabol ng hininga.

I give him an awkward smile, "Hehe, nahuli mo?"

His face turns blank. He moves his head from left to right. "Do you see anyone?" napahilamos siya sa sariling mukha. "God, why did you give me a stupid colleague?" there's a distress in his tone.

"Hey, I heard that!"

"You should, stupid." pinunasan niya ang kaniyang namumulang pisngi.

I roll my eyes at him, then I realize that we're not here to bitch each other.

"But where is he? Are we that slow?" I ask.

He looks at me with disbelief. "You are that slow." he points his fingers at me while giving emphasis in the word 'you'.

"I can't just be reckless. Naghanap muna ako ng pang-self-defense." itinaas ko ang payong na hawak ko na ikinabusangot naman ng mukha niya.

"Can you be more stupid than that?"

"I'm not stupid! I almost flew just to get here fast!" sigaw ko sa kaniya pero kumunot ang aking noo nang biglang nanlaki ang mga mata niya.

"What's with that face?" tanong ko.

He didn't answer.

He just looks up.

Then it struck me.

Flew.

Upward.

He took the fly system!

That's where the props are in, including the artificial rain water that I used in my performance.

We didn't bother to run again, because it's too late already.

Whoever shot Tara, is now outside, free, and roaming on the road.

--

"So he went to the fly system?" Danielle asks.

Nandito kaming lahat ngayon sa Balibago Hospital maliban kay Noah.

Tinext kasi kami ni Danielle na ngayong araw din ay maaari na siyang makauwi kaya dinaanan na namin siya.

I answer her with a nod. Ayoko nang ipangalandakan pa niya sa lahat kung gaano kami katanga ni Leighton para hindi maisip kaagad 'yun.

"And what happened to the girl? Clara?"

"Tara," pagtatama ko. "Well, the funeral services came when we left so..." she gives me a nod that means she already understands the point.

"Kamusta ka naman?" tanong ni Clay na nakaupo sa isang pulang sofa. Nasa tabi niya si Gia na nagbabalat ng mansanas.

As for Noah, I've never seen him after the scene in the auditorium kaya hindi na namin siya naisama nang magpunta kami rito sa ospital at inabisuhan na lang namin siya na sumunod na lang.

Agnes and Leighton are outside, they buy the medicines for Danielle's minor injured foot. Agnes did even blush nang utusan namin silang dalawa ni Leighton na bumili.

Ylise is sitting beside me, kanina pa niya kinakalikot ang phone niya at panay din ang pagbuntong hininga niya. I tap her hand and give her a concerned look, telepathically asking if everything's fine. She just shrugs and mouthed, "father."

"Gusto mo?" bulalas ni Gia saka marahang inabot ang kapirasong mansanas sa harap ni Danielle.

"Yes, please-"

Agad na hinila ito pabalik ni Gia. "Luh, asa ka."

"Bitch." Danielle glares at her then she rests her back on the bed.

"That's why you shouldn't trust people," says Ylise in a matter-of-fact tone.

Natawa kaming lahat dahil sa sinabi niya.

Then the door creaks open. Agnes comes in while blushing and we all give her a silly grin.

Then there comes the stupid who always say stupid when in fact, he's the stupid. Leighton, the stupidest among the stupids.

His bored face tells that he knows nothing. Really stupid.

"How was it?" Gia asks that made Agnes blush even harder.

"What are you talking about?" bulalas ni Leighton saka marahas na ibinato ang plastic bag kay Danielle. "Here's your medicine, weakling."

"Thank you, Cody," Danielle responds. That's Leighton's second name. And he hates being called that way. I'm pretty sure everyone hates their second names.

"Shut up."

"How much is it?" tanong ni Danielle habang kinakalikot ang plastic bag na tumama sa mukha niya.

"Did I ask you to pay for it?"

"Oh, you're so sweet, Cody. I hope no one's gonna get mad at me~" Danielle mumbles in a playful tone and she turns her gaze to Agnes who immediately looks down.

Muling bumukas ang pinto at iniluwa nito si Noah. Hindi na namin natanong kung saang lupalop siya nanggaling dahil inunahan na niya kaming magsalita.

"Have you heard?" he blurts out.

"The door? Of course we did," Ylise mumbles

Noah rolls his eyes. "The university's decision."

"No... What about it?" humarap ako sa kaniya. I give him a curious look.

"W-we're not allowed t-to enter s-school for t-two weeks. T-they need t-to settle s-some things f-first r-regarding the s-scandal."

"We're? You mean us? Gifted students?" tanong ni Clay.

Noah nods. "Yeah, us. "

"Why?" biglang tanong ni Gia.

"Because some parents came after you went here. I even got stuck with the chaos. They're all asking questions about the gifted thingy. After all, it seemed like they're not aware that there's an injustice treatment among students."

Kumunot ang noo ko. I thought that was stated in the contract that we signed before we entered the University? O gifted students lang ang nakatanggap no'n? I mean, it's kinda weird because the students never complained at all, and their parents know nothing about this matter?

"Well, that explains why my Dad is being a bitch." Ylise sighs at marahas na ibinaba ang phone niya.

"So we're supposed to spend two weeks in our houses? That's so boring," Danielle expresses then she slumps her back on the white linen.

"Then break your other foot so you won't be bored for two weeks in your house." It's Leighton, obviously.

"Really? Why don't you just die?" answers Danielle while raising her left eyebrow.

"Can you show us how to?"

"Fuck you."

"Hey! Stop bitching each other. Someone's being jealous," usal ni Noah dahilan para mapatingin kaming lahat kay Agnes na ngayo'y biglang namula dahil sa hiya.

"Hey, hey! Everyone, look." from peering at Agnes, we all shift our heads to Gia who just called us. She's holding Clay's phone.

Iniharap niya ito sa amin. "I have an idea where we can spend our two week rest," she utters while grinning widely.

I read the e-mail displayed on the screen.

Are you bored enough?

Looking for some place where you can take a rest and remove all your stress?

Or you just wanna forget everything in the past?

Past that keeps on haunting your dreams,

That stops you from moving.

This place is for you

Come and join us in Casa Reàl!

Thank you, for being a piece.

Address: Xxxxx

Contact info: Xxxxx

Past that you wanted to forget? Does it mean previous relationships?

Thank you, for being a piece? What's that supposed to mean?

"God, this looks exciting!" Gia hugs the phone to her breasts.

"Obviously, this is a place for every person who's trying to move on," I utter.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're not coming with us?" tanong ni Gia at lahat sila'y napatingin sa akin.

Noah's eyes pleads, so are Danielle's.

"Fine, whatever suits you," I surrender with a sigh.

"Well, I can help you guys to get there. The location is within our property," sabat naman ni Ylise matapos tapunan ng tingin ang e-mail.

"You're not coming?" tanong ni Danielle sa kaniya.

"No."

A sound of groans filled the entire room, Agnes and Leighton remained silent, on the other hand.

"Sumama ka na!" pagpupumilit ni Danielle sa kaniya.

"Uhm... no," she firmly contends.

"Gan'to na lang, if you can answer all of my three questions correct, pwede kang hindi sumama. But if you fail, you have no other choice but to spend two weeks with us in that place." biglang tumayo si Clay sa sofa.

Leighton's whisper was audible to everyone. "A stupid trying to ask a geek some questions? Ridiculous."

Clay sighs at first, but he later just shrugs and smile then ignores Leighton. "What do you say, Ylise?" he asks.

"Sure, just make sure these are all academic questions."

Clay nods and we all peer our attentions to the both of them. Gia is clutching the phone tightly, as if she's wishing that Ylise will fail to answer at least one of the questions.

Hinablot ni Clay ang phone sa kamay ni Gia at mabilis na nagtipa mula rito. He's searching for some questions.

Leighton gives out an insulting laugh, but we all ignore it. He's always like this when it comes to Clay, he treats him so coldly all the time and we have no idea why.

But I know they have issues.

"Okay, listen carefully." Clay lowers his head para magtapat ang mga mukha nila ni Ylise.

"Which has more landmass: Antarctica or Canada?" Clay reads the text from his phone.

Napasimangot kaming lahat nang diretsong sinagot ni Ylise ang unang tanong.

"Antarctica," she mumbles in a certain tone.

Clay's face crumpled. "Next."

"In Swedish, a skvader is a rabbit with what unusual feature?"

"Wings."

Clay gives out a sigh of frustration. "How the fuck did you know about that?"

"Books aren't made to be furnitures," sagot ni Ylise sa nababagot na tono.

"Okay, last question-" I cut Clay's words off.

"Let me ask the last question." I give him an assuring stare then he smiles at me as if he's giving me the permission to blurt it out.

"Bring it on," kampanteng saad ni Ylise saka siya sumandal sa sofa.

I grin at her.

This time, you will surely lose, Ylise.

"What are the exact measurements of the ingredients in an Adobo?" I murmur while directly looking at her eyes.

She shouts, "That's not an academic question!"

Mas lalong lumaki ang aking ngisi. "Cookery is a subject, Ylise. So it's obviously academically related."

Her eyes widen, so does my grin.

"This is so unfair!" pagmamaktol niya at marahas na isinalampak ang likod sa upuan at ipinagkrus ang kaniyang mga braso.

"We're waiting for your answer," Gia mumbles in a playful tone while smiling sillily.

Ylise breathes heavily using her nose because her lips are hardly pursing against each other.

"¼ cup of soy sauce-"

"Wrong," I quickly interrupt.

"What?" she unbelievably asks.

"It's ⅛," pang-iimbento ko.

There are no required exact measurements in cooking.

A food recipe doesn't have an accurate measurement of ingredients, it will always be based on who's cooking.

Likewise, in this game, my question, my preferences of answers.

"You lost, Ylise. So pack your things tonight, because tomorrow, we're going on a trip," I declare with a triumphant smile on my lips.