Chapter 5: Sysfairóno

Maddox's POV

"Shoot it, aim right, Ax!" sabi ni Storm. Hawak ang tako sa isang kamay ay humikab ako, inaantok.

"This isn't my forte, dude! Kelan ba tayo pupunta sa Alejandro's?" reklamo ni Ax at tinira ulit ang billiard ball. It didn't go in, of course. This dumbass really does suck at pool.

"We can't tonight. Dad wants me home," I replied and went into position. I moved my arms along with the cue stick. Halatang may halong galit ang pagtira ko ng lumipad ang bola.

"You probably won't do as he says, anyway," sabi sa akin ni Storm. Tama naman sya. I've always been a rebel. But this time, I just couldn't say no. It's Mom's death anniversary.

"Probably," I agreed.

"But have you checked on them yet?" tanong ni Ax at biglang dumapa sa billiard table. Nginisian nya ako at pinalo naman ni Storm si Ax sa pwet ng cue stick.

"Checked on who?"

"You know, your darling," tawa nya, may halong pang-aasar sa boses.

"I have no reason to," I muttered.

"Why so cold, Maddox?" sabay ni Storm at parehas nila akong tinignan.

"I'm not cold. I just don't care," Humikab ulit ako at linaro ang stick sa kamay ko. "Don't you guys have a shoot today?"

Umirap si Storm at umupo na din sa gilid ng table. "You do, too. And I don't. Si Ax ata meron. I only have paperworks to finish."

"It's exhausting," Friax groaned and fully lied on the table. Tinignan ko lang sila at humikab ulit. I'm sleepy... "I don't want to be a damn heir."

"Wala na tayong magagawa. Pinanganak tayong ganoon," sabi ni Storm at humiga sa tabi ni Ax. They hugged and a smile rose on my face. Tumawa ako ng mahina. Crackheads. "Kung pwede lang, pinasabog ko na yung mga building namin."

"You'd be poor then," sabi ni Ax, yakap pa din si Storm. I shook my head and chuckled, swooshing the stick on my hand.

"Exactly!" sabi ni Storm. "I need money, dude!"

Sumigaw silang dalawa at nagyakap pa. Weirded out, I stood up from the billiards table. Ibinalik ko sa cue stand ang tako at tumingin sa labas ng bintana ng rooftop.

"But she's really pretty, though," Ax sighed. Tumingin ako sa kanila.

"Why do you keep bringing her up? Crush mo ba, pare?" asar sa kanya ni Storm at sinundot ang tagiliran nya. 

"No, but we haven't slept at all. And I need girls to keep me happy, you know!" sabi ni Ax. 

"Yeah, and it's 5:12 in the morning," tingin ni Storm sa relo nya. He looked at me. "You might as well go to school, Mads."

Automatic ang pag-ikot ng mata ko. "Not you, too! Don't call me Mads!"

Tinawanan nila ako at dinaganan ko sila. Nanlaki ang mata nila pero hindi din naman sila nakailag. Tinulak nila ako paalis pero tumawa lang ako ng parang mangkukulam.

"Go to school, monkey-face," napasigaw ako ng pingutin ako ni Storm. Tumawa si Ax kaya agad na hinila ko din ang tenga nya. He screamed like a girl. Storm laughed and Ax immediately grabbed him by the balls, making him screech.

Nagsigawan kaming lahat pero hindi kami bumitaw. Naghalo ang tawa at iyak namin. Napatigil lang kami ng marinig namin ang maliit na tunog ng table. Nagkatinginan kami at paunahang umalis doon. 

"We almost broke it."

**********

I should have just went home and slept. Humikab ako at nag-park sa spot ko. People flooded. Nakakainis. Pwede bang maging pagong nalang ako?

"Excuse me!" mahaba 'kong sigaw at nginitian sila. "I have a bad day, don't get in my way, please." 

Did they listen? Of course not. I sighed and went back inside my car. Sumandal ako sa headrest. This is why I don't go to school. Hindi nila ako pinagkakaguluhan, I'm not a popstar. Tinitignan nila akong lahat kaya nagkaka-crowd. It's making me dizzy.

Napahilamos ako sa mukha at napangisi ng makita ang gold na kotseng humaharurot papasok ng gate. People parted and they diverted their attention to him. He parked and I waited for him to get out but he didn't. After a few moments, my phone rang. I answered.

"Is that your car I'm seeing?" sumalubong sa akin ang boses ni Cairo.

"Hehe," tawa ko. "Yes."

"You're actually at school!" nailayo ko sa tenga ko ang cellphone ko sa sigaw ni Cairo. "That's like once in a blue moon."

"I don't even want to attend school, sinipag lang ako ngayon. And... I can't get out," I sheepishly grinned to nobody. "Help."

Namatay ang tawag at ilang sandali lang ay linipat nya ang sasalyan nya sa tabi ko. Sabay kaming lumabas. He has a grin etched on his face when he saw me. Agad kaming nag-handshake. Damn, I should go to school a lot more. I forgot I got friends in here.

"HQ?" tanong nya at kinuha ang bag nya. I said yes and walked with him. It's better than getting mugged by myself.

Hinawi ko ang buhok na tumakip sa mata ko at umakbay kay Cairo. By the time we got in the hangout building, Matrix jumped up to hug me. Ang bunso ng Power 6.

"I just realized, do you guys let people call us Power 6?" tanong ko.

"No," tawa ni Cairo. "Ano tayo, power rangers?"

Tumawa kami. Nag-beso kami ni Anna at ate Afhro. A lot of people waved at me as I went out with Cairo to head to the luncheonette and I politely nodded my head back as a sign of respect.

"There's so much that happened," Cairo said beside me. "I'll show you later, I need to go to the school convenience store, inuutusan ako ni Afhro."

I grinned. "Why can't you ever say no to ate Afhro, huh?"

He bumped my shoulder and waved goodbye, heading straight to the elevator. I watched his back, amused. Muntik akong matapilok ng magsiksikan ang mga tao sa akin. There's still space but... I'm not comfortable.

"U-Uh..." sinubukan 'kong dumaan pero masyado silang marami. Some said hi so I smiled again. Bakit ba hindi ko sinamahan si Cairo? Damn, my tummy hurts, too. 

I sighed and tried to ring Cairo but he wasn't answering. Tumingin ulit ako sa paligid at muling nagbuntong-hininga. Masikip ang hininga 'kong tinanggal ang coat ko. I unbuttoned my waistcoat next and loosened my tie.

"Maddox!" rinig na rinig ko ang matinis na tili ni Ayana. She hugged me and I smiled, hugging her for a bit before pushing her away. Parang insect repeller si Ayana kaya nagsi-alisan agad ang mga tao.

"Calm down, Ayana. Sheesh," I chuckled. She grinned and told me she missed me. Hinimas ko lang ang buhok nya at tinanaw ulit kung nandito na ba si Cairo. My eyes wandered, and was glued on a familiar figure in a moment. I tilted my head, a smile spreaded on my face. Coincidence? If so, then it really is funny. She stared at me, looking shocked. 

Napangiti ako dahil hindi ako makapaniwala. I looked at her again, and she was there, frozen, staring right at me. So I smiled and said, "Hi, pretty darling."

I felt Ayana's head whip towards her. I slightly flinched but I coughed and pretended that I didn't. I want a tough guy image afterall. Dinala ako ng tingin ko sa kanya pero naglalakad na sya palayo. She sped-walked into the elevators and nakatingin lang sa akin si Ayana.

"You know her?" her mouth is still wide-open as she asked me. Sinarado ko ang bibig nya at tinulak sya sa elevator. 

"Mukha ba'ng di ko sya kilala?" bara ko sakanya at hinila sya. Parang bata ay natuwa ako ng magsilayuan ang mga tao. "I'll tell you if you go with me in the luncheonette."

Buong oras ay nakatingin sa akin si Ayana. I looked at her uneasily.

"Stop staring, Yana!" saway ko at tinulak ang mukha nya. Tinabig nya ang kamay ko at tinanong ulit ako kung paano ko nakilala yung babae. I don't think I should tell her the real story, though, right?

"Tell me or I'll whack your head, Maddox!" tili nya at sinubukang abutin ang buhok ko. I groaned and tried to shove her hands off.

"Okay, okay! Let me eat first, I'm starving," sabay hawak ko sa tyan 'kong kumukulo. Naglakad kami sa counter at nag-order agad ako for takeout. There's no way I'm eating in here.

"I'm really stupefied! Alam mo ba na Cairo was acting weird around her?" kwento ni Ayana ng paakyat kami sa HQ. I gulped from the water bottle, satisfying my thirst.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Hindi lang 'yon. She totally tamed Jax's brat brother. And Cairo was all like, 'Can I hug you?' on the very first day he saw her."

I bit my lip, intrigued. Napahawak ako sa baba ko, hawak ang paperbag ng pagkain at inumin. 

"That was really weird," sabi ko. "She's weird."

Natulala ako sandali at tinitignan lang ako Ayana. "By the way, she's my bestfriend."

My head slowly turned to look at her. Seryoso ba sya? She's never wanted a bestfriend before. I grabbed her head as we crossed the skyway. "Ayana, what happened to you? Akala ko ba you'd always be fine alone?"

Pinitik nya ako kaya binitawan ko agad sya. When we entered the HQ, Matrix was there, gaming again. But when I saw her playing with him, my jaw slightly dropped. I'm speechless, honestly.

I stood there looking crazy just looking at them in disbelief.

"Ayana! We're going camping daw, sabi ni kuya Cairo," takbo ni Anna sa grand stairs at paakyat sa amin at ma hawak pang camping bag. Gulat nya akong tinignan. "You actually went to school. Himala."

"Of course, dummy," I replied. 

"Criasha!" sigaw ulit ni Ayana. I sighed. "You honestly need to tell me stuff!"

I followed her down and sat on the sofa beside Matrix. Agad na nag-pause ng game si Matrix at tinalunan ulit ako. I coughed and tapped his shoulder. "Calm down, buddy. You saw me a while ago."

The girl from two days ago just stayed quiet and talked to Ayana.

"Matrix, 'wag ka umarteng unggoy," saway ni Cairo sa taas at bumabang may hawak na paperbag.

"Iniwan mo ako, pre!" binato ko sya ng throw pillow. He only laughed and sat on the sofa. 

"Tulog si Afhro sa classroom nila," he just says. "I brought foods."

Naglapag sya ng plastic sa center table at sinimangutan ko sya.

"Criasha, grab one. I told you to eat breakfast and you probably didn't listen again," he grumpily said and grabbed a soda in the fridge and gave her a box of food. Napakamot ako sa pisngi ko at hinawi ang buhok ko habang tinitignan sila.

Tumigil sa kulitan si Ayana at Criasha. 

"What's for breakfast?" singit nya sa gilid ni Cairo. I'm surprised that they're comfortable with each other. Now... I'm getting suspiscious. Why? I'm pretty sure that Cairo unknowingly likes ate Afhro.

"Are you guys dating?" I asked. Sabay nila akong tinignan. Despite her awkwardness around me, ngumiwi sya.

"Ew," sabay nilang sabi ni Cairo at nagpasahan ng pagkain at tissue.

"Darling, that's cap, isn't it?" tanong ko. Ayana and Criasha choked and Matrix just played. I refuse to believe.

"Darling?" tanong ni Cairo. Natameme ako ng tignan nya ako. He's exuding male protectiveness at hindi nya man lang namamalayan na hinaharangan nya si Criasha. Pasimpleng sumubo si Ayana ng marshmallow at hinila si Criasha sa tabi nya. My eyes met Criasha's expressive ones. I gulped.

What happened in the 3 months that I wasn't here?

"Criasha?" patanong 'kong sagot at nagtitigan lang kami ni Cairo.

"No," he said after a while.

"No?"

"No."

We stared at each other.

"How did you even know Criasha?" tanong ni Cairo. Before I could answer, he spoke again. "Nevermind. You know what, don't go near her, Maddox, I'm telling you."

"Ang sungit mo naman, Cairo," tawa ni Ayana na nakaakbay kay Criasha. "You going to the camping, Maddox?"

Agad akong dumekwatro at humindi. "No way."

"Okay, sanay naman kaming wala ka," she shrugged and I felt slightly guilty. "You going Criasha?"

"Sure," malumanay ang boses na sabi nya.

"I'm going," sabat ko. I'm intirigued and a camping ground isn't in my father's jurisdiction anyways. Not like this school.

Cairo gave me a stare. "Do you like Criasha?"

He looked at her. "Wait, how do you even know him?"

Ayana sighed. "I was curious, too, dude."

Criasha and I shared a glance.