Chapter 3: "You Have My Eyes"

Parang estatwa sila Ayana, Jax, at Anna. Maging ang mga tao na nakapalibot sa amin ay hindi gumagalaw. Even I couldn't move.

Silence...

Stillness...

Heavy breaths...

I felt it. The adrenaline pumping inside my entirety. I breathed deeply, in and out. I cursed myself and shook my head when ridiculous thoughts crossed my head.

"I don't care about who you are, the only question I have with me is what do you want?" tanong ni Jax, his voice surprisingly calm. His arm is shaking, though.

Namumula ang mata at nanginginig sa saya, nagsalita ang lalaki, "Manahimik ka! P-Papatayin ko kayong lahat! Papatayin ko kayong mga Buenaventura!"

"Ano? 'Wag kayong lalapit!" sigaw nya at nawala ang emosyon ko ng makita ang dugo na tumutulo sa kutsilyo. It's slowly cutting her. If I was in her position I would have fainted from the mere possibility that I could die.

Tanga ba ako sa gagawin ko, o tanga ako sa gagawin ko? Whatever, I don't care. I just hope this won't be the wrong choice.

Huminga ako ng malalim at hiniling na sana ay hindi ako mapahamak at magdala ng sakit ng ulo kay Mama. If I get hurt, we would need to spend more money.

"Don't look at me, he'll notice," bulong ko at sabay akong tinignan ni Ayana at Jax. I mentally facepalmed. Of course, titingin sila. 

I moved my feet backwards and disappeared slowly in the crowd.  I grabbed a spoon in a nearby table bago ako umikot papunta sa likod ng lalaki. I took the deepest breath that I could while he's hysterically screaming, telling Ayana to go near him. Ayana was crying, but not moving.

Nagkatinginan kami ni Jax. His brown eyes were filled with uncertainty but he's clearly alert. 

I jumped into action.

Galing sa gilid ng lalaki ay sumulpot ako at kinulong sya sa braso ko. I'm so small, I'm basically hanging on him. Bago pa man sya makapagsalita ay idinikit ko sa sa ilalim ng panga nya ang hawakan ng kutsara.

"This is a luncheonette. May mga kutsilyo din dito, you know?" Banta ko kahit na nagpa-panic ako sa kaloob-looban ko.

"Kaya 'ko pa ding patayin si Buenaventura," sabi nya pero hindi namam sya gumagalaw. 

"Edi patayin mo," mayabang 'kong sambit at pasimpleng nakiramdam sa paligid ko. Tahimik pa din at nararamdaman ko ang panginginig nya. It wasn't his shaking that exposed him. It's the cold sweat. The whole school is air-conditioned, even the comfort rooms. "Papatayin din kita."

Nanginginig ang kamay ko sa kaba kaya mas idiniin ko ang kutsara sa leeg nya. I applied the right amount of pressure. If I press any harder he will notice that it isn't a knife because it won't cut him.

"Like hell I care," sambit nya.

Nagkatinginan kami nila Ayana. Maris has a terrified look on her face. Anna was whimpering and silently crying.

"I change my mind, you should rot in jail."

I pressed the spoon harder, enough for him to realize that I was bluffing. It looks like his brain didn't process it that fast. Before he could move I pinched the thick artery on his neck as hard as I could. And right then and there, he fainted.

Parang ilang taon akong hindi nakahinga ng magpakawala ako ng hangin. Bumagsak ako sa lapag. 

I watched Ayana rush to her sister, both crying. Ang ibang mga estudyante ay pinalibutan ang tulog na lalaki. Tinanggal ko ang unang butoness ng button up blouse ko. I had trouble breathing for a bit.

All sounds were muffled. Pumikit ako, nanginginig pa din. Napatingin ako kay Anna na mukhang nakakita ng multo. She's shivering like a wet mouse. Ang kaliwang kamay nya ay nakapalibot sa kanya at ang isa niyang kamay ay nasa leeg nya.

I stood up, shaken.

I'm not dead. Oh, thank goodness.

That incident was around three weeks ago. Ayana... well, she kept coming to me. Hindi naman sa ayaw ko ng kaibigan. Ayaw ko lang sa Power 6. Ayoko ng atensyon kung kaya. After a few days we did become friends. Anna still hates me, though.

"September 21, 1972 became the official date that Martial Law was established-" there was a knock on the door.

Binuksan ng professor namin ang pintuan at bumulaga ang principal namin. I continued to scribble on my notebook, making sure that I got the date right.

"May I excuse Criasha?" natigilan ako sa pagsusulat. I looked up and the professor nodded her head.

Tumayo agad ako at lumabas. 

"The Director told me to guide you to the private classroom," ngiti nya.

"Private classroom?" tanong ko.

"Power 6's hangout room."

Damn. 

"Para saan po?"

"Your tutoring task," sabi nya at sinundan ko sya sa elevator.

Parang shunga akong tumango. I almost forgot that. We walked towards the grade 12's building rooftop. Umawang ang labi ko sa gulat ng makita ko ang dalawang skyway bridge papunta sa kanan at kaliwang mga building.

Sinundan ko agad sya ng dumiretso sya sa kaliwang building. May ibang sector ang college kaya malayo ang buildings nila sa highschool department. 

"This is the power 6's  private hangout classroom," sabi ng Headmaster namin. Tumama sa mukha ko ang malamig na hangin galing sa AC pagkabukas na pagkabukas ng automatic na sliding glass door ng building. Fancy.

"U-Uh, where?" tanong ko ng makita ko ang isang malaking grand staircase. I stood there and took a peak from the long hallways of the balcony. Sa baba ko ay bumulaga sa akin ang isang malaking event hall. 

"Hi, guys!" bati ng school principal namin. Napa-angat ang tingin ni Ayana at Anna na may isinasabit sa mga dingding.

"Omg, Criasha!" sigaw ni Ayana at agad na tumakbo sa staircase pataas sa amin. "Did you come for me? I told you to go here naman kasi but you never say yes."

I grinned guiltily, "I'm not here for you."

Sumimangot sya.

"Where's Matrix?" tanong uli ng Principal.

"That brat is at the gaming room, of course. He hates everyone except from the crazy trio," sambit ni Anna at tinarayan agad ako ng magkatinginan kami. I smiled. 

"Si Matrix po ba yung tuturuan ko, Ma'am?" tanong ko at hinarap sya. Inakbayan ako ni Ayana at kumagat ng cookie. I swear this girl always carries cookies around.

"Just call me ate Zura. You make me feel old, darling," magandang ngiti nya. She's exceptionally pretty and it's obvious that she's very young.

"That's pretty rare. You only let us call you ate Zura," hindi ko alam bakit kinilabutan ako ng marinig ko ang isa pang malalim na boses galing sa gitna ng staircase. When he came into view, my heart banged against my chest. It wasn't attraction. It was a comfortable feeling. Almost like home.

Nagkatitigan kami.

His eyes glinted.

"Cairo. Why do you look like that?" tanong ni Ayana at nagtatakang tinignan kaming dalawa ng lalaki. He's Cairo, huh? Well, to think of it, I never saw him before.

"Don't tell me na ikaw din, kuya Cai," Anna sighed.

They talked more but our eyes were glued to each other. Nakapamulsa lang sya at nakatitig sa akin. Parehas kaming nagulat ng sabay kaming magtagilid ng ulo. I have a habit of tilting my head when I think hard or drift off.

"Well, since you seem interested, why don't you guide her to Matrix, huh, Cairo?" sabi ni ate Zura at kinindatan ako. Kumunot ang nuo ko.

"Did I see you somewhere before?" he asked again. The warmth vibrated in the air towards me again.

"I don't think so," I replied. We had a stare down contest again. Minutes passed at nakatitig lang sila Ayana sa amin. I wanted to take my eyes off of him but... there's something weird about it. I couldn't divert my attention away from me.

After a few moments, he grinned sheepishly. "Hi, I'm Cairo. Can I hug you tight?" 

Malakas na tunog ang umalingawngaw sa kwarto. Binatukan sya ni Ayana. He groaned but laughed.

I just stared at him. I couldn't breathe and I felt like crying. It was overwhelming. I'm sure, hindi ko sya kilala.

"Why would you ask her that? Don't drive my friend away, weirdo!" sigaw ni Ayana at pinagpapalo sya sa likod. Cairo just laughed.

"It's funny," Cairo quietly muttered. We all looked at him. "You have my eyes."

Sabay na lumapit sa akin si Anna at Ayana. Nagulat ako kay Anna pero sanay na ako kay Ayana. After a few seconds, Anna said, "You really do have Cairo's eyes..."

"That's weird..." sabay na sabi ng magkapatid.

"The perfect shade of gold. You even got my yellow swirls," sabi nya at medyo nanigas ako ng lumapit sa sa akin. Our heads tilted in unison again. Napa-ngisi kaming dalawa. Just what the hell is happening.

"Baka you're getting ideas nanaman Cairo, ha! She just has your eyes. She's not her," sabi ni Ayana. Parang malungkot na tumingin palayo si Cairo.

"I'll lead you to Matrix, come on."

Sumunod agad ako. 

"Come back here when you're done, babe!" malayo na kami ng sumigaw ni Ayana. Napatigil ako. Babe? Agad akong tumingin kay Cairo. He was already looking at me.

"It's definitely not me she's calling for," he said and I muttered a silent 'oh'. I guess it's me.

We stepped on charcoal blue carpets down another grand stairway. Mangha akong tumingin sa ceiling at sa mga pader.

An overly handsome kid was sitting on a red sofa. Nakataas pa ang paa nya at may xbox controller sya sa kamay nya. Nagpalobo sya ng bubble gum at agad na sinabing, "Get out."

Umawang ang labi ko. Oh, I'm in for some trouble. Nagkatinginan kami ni Cairo. Ngumiwi sya at nag-peace sign.

"He's been like that since the day he was born, sorry."

I just smiled and our identical eyes connected again. I want to play with him. It's a weird feeling. I want to fight him, too. I want to embrace him and cry. Yes, it's very very weird indeed. But it's such a strong feeling.

"Is he your brother? Baka nagmana sa'yo," biro ko at agad na natatawang umawang ang mga labi nya. And then he laughed.

"No, I had a sister, though," there goes the solemn look on his face again.

"Had? Oh... sorry," napayuko ako. The kid in the chair looked at us and paused his game.

"We had an accident when I was five. Our car slipped on the road. Tapos sumabog. Everyone survived, except from my baby sis," he explained as he tried to make his face stoic. 

"She's probably alive, her small body wasn't found," sabi nya. "We haven't stopped looking for her yet. I look for her most of the time I'm not at school."

I smiled. "You sound like the best brother that ever existed, though." 

His golden eyes met my own. It glossed over and then he looked away.

"I don't know who you are, but you feel weird."

"You, too. Seriously," I sincerely said.

We had a staring contest for a bit again. Hindi ba parang sobra na ito sa isang araw?

"Kuya Cairo actually talks to you," Judgemental ang mukha ng batang nakaupo sa red na sofa na umikot pa para lang makita kami.

"Go away, because I won't let you tutor me. Math and biology sucks, you can't make me, change my mind," masungit niyang irap at naglaro ulit. I sighed and walked towards him. Sumunod si Cairo at umupo sa tabi sofa na katabi ng TV. I sat next to Matrix.

"I won't tutor you if you don't want me to then. Pero pumili ka ng laro, kapag nanalo ako tuturuan kita maglaro atsaka ng isang topic sa Math at Science. Is that a deal, little man?" I negotiated. The little kid stared at me.

"You won't beat me, you're a girly girl," he claimed. I just shrugged and grabbed another controller. He clicked on 4 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Tinaas ko din agad ang paa ko at nagtinginan kami, glares on our eyes. "Loser buys ice cream!"

"Call!" I agreed. And then the battle started...

I don't know how many hours we played. He always lost. Isang beses nya lang ako natalo. Cairo was just watching us and bettig sides. Nanalo ako but I still ended up buying the ice cream.

"You said yes! No cheating, Matrix," tawa ko. Sumubsob sa sofa si Matrix at sumigaw.

"NOOOOOOO!" he screamed. Tumawa kami ni Cairo.

"Okay, fine! Isa lang, okay? Play ulit tomorrow!" utos nya.

"Yes, sir!" sagot ko.

That's how I started to form a relationship with the school's most powerful people. I thought I've encountered enough of them. But there are more interesting people to meet...