Xyrica’s POV:
After the Clinic incident, I started begging Cyborg and Spencer to change their minds about the Boot Camp thing. I didn’t want the day to end without pitching the idea they kept rejecting. I kept asking what was wrong with my plan, but they kept ignoring me. Especially, Cyborg. I might’ve understood their rejection if they told me what was wrong, but I received no explanation, which is awfully upsetting. Because tomorrow is Foundation Day, and I needed to go to that Boot Camp tomorrow.
Miss Ludwig and her team prepared Foundation Day earlier today. Then, I saw her wearing her backpack saying goodbye to Klent in front of Thornesbrook. I guess she has somewhere else to go, lucky for her.
Xyrica’s POV:Day One.Spencer, Cyborg, and I barely made it to the Boot Camp for today. It took us a long time to travel because Spencer’s parents had to take care of our papers and valid IDs, just in case the Boot Camp Director was meticulous. We’re lucky because they made sure everything was flawless. All we need to do is to act like we’re delinquent, which I don’t think is a hard thing to do.Bago pa man inasikaso ng mga magulang ni Spencer ang mga papers namin kahapon ay pinagalitan muna nila kami. Kinailangan pa naming magpaliwanag kung bakit gagawin namin ang bagay na ito. Hindi naman kami nahirapan kasi pinagtulungan naming tatlo ang paliwanag na gusto nilang marinig. At kasi magaling si Spencer magmakaawa ay pumayag din kalaunan ang mga magulang niya.Mabuti nalang at kilala na ng mga magulang ni Spencer si Joy simula noong naging magkaibigan ang dalawa
Xyrica’s POV:After Spencer’s parents left, Director Rivero took us inside her office. She looked at us very carefully, like she was trying to examine us. Then she made Jackson talk about what really happened to Amanda. While Jackson freely explained what happened, Director Rivero was looking at Cyborg, Spencer, and me— one by one.Director Rivero made Jackson leave the room as soon as he finished explaining what happened, which Jackson happily obliged. Then she slowly walked toward me while looking at me intently. It made me feel comfortable for a second, and without any warning, she slapped the hell out of me. The three of us were shocked because what occurred right now.I immediately cupped my left cheek because it was hurting. I angrily looked at her then said,“How dare you slap me in front of my brothers? Alam mo bang kahit kailan ay hindi ako sinaktan ng mga m
Xyrica’s POV:Habang sinasagot nina Jackson at Amanda ang mga tanong nina Spencer at Cyborg tungkol sa Boot Camp na ito ay kinakabisado ko naman ang bawat sulok na dinaanan namin. Ipinakita nila sa amin kung nasaan ang Theater Room, Cafeteria, at pati na rin ang Isolation Room. Ito ‘yung room na sinasabi nina Jackson at Amanda na ‘severe punishment’ sa tuwing nagkakasala ang isang bata.Pero syempre, hindi kami pumasok sa loob ng Isolation Room kasi naka-lock ang pinto. At si Director Rivero lang ang tanging may hawak ng susi.Pagkatapos kaming i-tour nina Jackson at Amanda ay bumalik kami sa opisina ni Dir
Xyrica’s POV:Someone gently tapped my face, which made me come to my senses. I didn’t open my eyes immediately because I was so tired from last night’s chore. I tried covering my face with the blanket instead of waking up. But, the hand didn’t stop tapping me gently.“I’m up!”Naiinis na sabi ko, at tinanggal ko na ‘yung kumot sa mukha ko.Naiinis na binuksan ko ‘yung mga mata ko pero kaagad na nawala ‘yung inis ko dahil sa taong gumising sa akin. Sisigaw na sana ako dahil sa gulat pero tinakpan niya ‘yung bibig ko at nag-sign na huwag dapat akong mag-ingay.“What are you doing here?”Pabulong na tanong niya sa akin habang nakatakip pa rin ang kamay niya sa bibig ko.Inalis ko ‘yung kamay niya tapos napaupo sa higaan ko. At pabulong din na suma
Xyrica’s POV:Ano ba ang meron sa mga tao rito sa Boot Camp? Bakit hindi nila magawang kilalanin ang isang tao? E, madali lang naman magtanong sa isang tao kung ano ang pangalan niya, saan siya nakatira, at kung ano ang ginagawa niya sa lugar na ito. Kaso nanatili lang silang manahimik at huwag pakialaman ang mga nakakasama nila.Napaupo ako sa higaan dahil sa sinabi ni Mica. Gusto ko munang i-proseso ang lahat ng sinabi niya tungkol sa babaeng tumakas— na posibleng si Joy.“Hindi ba madali para sa inyo ang makipagkaibigan sa mga baguhan?”Tanong ko kay Mica.Napabuntong-hininga ito at saka malungkot nagsalita,“Hindi ko naman sinabing mahirap makipagkaibigan. Sadyang kami lang talaga ang ayaw. Alam mo kung bakit? Mahirap para sa amin na pagmasdan ang mga taong naging kaibigan na namin na umalis kasama ang mga magulang nila. Ha
Xyrica’s POV:I explained everything to Spencer and Cyborg over breakfast, and miss Ludwig helped with the explaining too. It turns out that only miss Ludwig used her own identity when she came to the Boot Camp. She pulled some strings to be here, not to mention that she used Klent’s mom to be her mom— the one who delivered her here.Klent’s mom is a very influential person. She has a lot of connections, especially to some legendary organizations of the mafia, yakuza, and gangsters. I bet she used her contacts to let miss Ludwig enter this kind of place. People used to say she was a part of an organization.But, I’ve seen her once, and Klent’s mother is very sophisticated— I don’t think she’s the type of woman who joins any organization. And, she never uses her connections to do anything that would harm other people.“That w
Xyrica’s POV:Ilang oras na ang lumipas at hindi pa rin ako pinapakawalan ni Director Rivero. Wala akong pakialam kung nagugutom o nauuhaw ako— kasi ihing-ihi na talaga ako. Ilang oras kong tinitiis ito habang kumakatok sa pinto upang mabuksan. Pero mukha namang walang tao kasi wala namang lumapit sa akin para kausapin ako.Kahit walang lumalapit ay hindi pa rin ako nawawalan ng pag-asa na maiinis din sa akin si Director Rivero sa ingay na ginagawa ko. Kaya halos umabot na ako ng isang oras na kumakatok sa pinto.“Sana naman ay may Comfort Room dito lahit walang ilaw!” Naiinis na sabi ko sa isip ko.Kinatok ko ulit ang pinto kasi hindi ko na talaga kaya. Kung aabutin pa ako ng ilang minuto rito ay iihi nalang siguro ako sa kwartong ito nang mainis lalo si Director Rivero sa akin. Hindi ko naman kasi inakalang aabutin ako ng ilang oras dito Isolation Room.
Xyrica’s POV:DAY TWO. TWO O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING.Miss Ludwig and I created a plan to make Mica talk about what she and Amanda talked about in the Comfort Room yesterday. I guess it’s time to use a little bit of force on someone— as long as you can get the wanted results. Here I am with miss Ludwig, in the middle of the night. We are silently jumping out of bed.I held a piece of cloth in my hand to use for Mica. Just in case she tries to shout for help and wake everyone up. I saw Miss Ludwig’s silhouette slowly approaching Mica, and I did the same until we reached her bed.Miss Ludwig gently squeezed my arm three times. It’s the sign we came up with, and it means I will cover Mica’s mouth while miss Ludwig tries to hold her down. We did the plan flawlessly, and it made Mica panic a lot. But she couldn’t do anything about the situation.