Chapter 12: Naked Eyes

It took us the whole day yesterday to finalize the composition of the song. I liked it. ‘Kill Me Again. Maybe This Time I Get Justice. Hearing it from Chuck’s very own mouth gave me the chills I didn’t expect to have at that very moment. The creeps that the title gave was beyond tolerable that I needed to open the nearest window for us to gasp for fresh air. The idea of the song, the message the lyrics was trying to convey, and even the tune and the melody when we sang it was very suffocating. 

I agreed to Chuck when he said we need to tell what people what really happened. The murder was brutal, so we need to say it like it was. No filters. No censors. But I was also brought round  to the idea of Jermaine’s words. I thought she was right when she said that the song will not only produce controversies, but it will also bring people the fear and panic they shouldn’t have. To be honest, I was torn. But I have to set it all aside because we had already made a decision. We would be singing this. We would be showing everyone that Mrs. Magada’s case shouldn’t just disappear like a smoke in the air. Justice will always be reachable only if we take effort to reach for it. 

It was roughly five in the afternoon of Tuesday when the three of us decided to call the whole class and teach them the song. We gathered in the music room, the same room where we worked on with the composition, to make use of the various instruments we had inside. At least half of the class knew how to play any kind of instruments, so they just had to review the chords Chuck had prepared and then apply it on their chosen stuff. We didn’t have enough time to record an instrumental background music, that’s why we just have to play it live.

From the window, it was clear that the sky was colored in yellow and pink. There were few birds flying past the settling sun, and an airplane cutting through the thickness of clouds. Looking down the building, I saw star sectioners from lower years sending themselves home. Some were riding the yellow private bus, while some had their own cars—with and without chauffeurs—to help them rock the highways as they chimed in with other vehicles on a late afternoon traffic. 

I found myself sitting on the third window, the one facing the door, with Yuri, Rabiya, and Samantha on my left. They were currently reading the composition just like what the rest of the class did. The three of us, those who composed  the song, had already passed that stage so there’s nothing much we can do but to wait until everyone was done memorizing the lines. 

I gazed to the drum set where Chuck and his bandmates, Jieve and LD were tuning the guitars—both the electric and the acoustic. On their right was The Star Harmony, an all-girls band consisted by Eva, Rosalin, Leigh Ann, and Cyren. All of them had the same vital statistics according their lead vocalist, Leigh. It was not really interesting and intriguing, but if you cared about physical appearances, you might as well consider taking a glimpse of them because they were all goddesses of beauty. Specialized in singing country and pop music, The Star Harmony had already made their own career through doing out of town concerts and singing on different events. To sum it up, both of the bands in our class were popular and talk of the town.

“Don’t you think this is a little too dark for a song?” Samantha asked out of the blue. 

“It is, Samantha. But everything in that lyrics are all true, right?” I asked back. She should agree with it. She was the one who first witnessed the crime scene. 

“Err, yes. They are all true.”

 

Yuri, while holding both a comic book and a copy of the song at the same time, said, “Idk about you, but I think I’m not attending.” 

“Why’s that?” Rabiya questioned while chewing a gum. She’s been chewing it since we were in the classroom an hour ago, and now I couldn’t imagine how did it taste at this point. 

“There’s this anime I watched that feels so realistic. It’s also about funeral service and—”

I inserted in the middle of her statement. “And cut the shit,” I said, then stood up and walked towards her to grab her comic book. “If you want to stay in the star section, follow the rules. But if you want to end up forced to leave like Keiciara and Clarens, then feel free to get your comic book here in the front and go home.” I moved to the center where there were two large audio boxes next to a mini table with microphones and headsets on it. I placed her favorite manga on top of one of the speakers, and turned right where Jermaine was helping Cylvia and Ashley to memorize the song. They were all leaning on the wall because the chairs were insufficient for everyone to have something to sit on. 

“How’s it going, ladies?” I greeted them with a smile. 

Jermaine bumped herself off the wall and folded her copy of the song. “We are good. I think we’re ready.” 

I turned to the direction of the drum set and called Chuck’s name. “Shall we start?” I shouted, and he just gave me a thumbs up. Assuming it was a ‘go signal,’ I made sure everyone was present inside. I slid to the center of the floor, and clapped my hand to call the attention of everyone. When all eyes were on me, I announced, “This is our only chance to practice. The ceremony will begin eight in the morning tomorrow, so we only have approximately two hours to learn the song. This will not be easy, that’s why I am hoping for everyone to cooperate so we can finish as early as we can. If possible, we should be done before eight to get ourselves a longer rest for tomorrow. Are we clear?” 

Everyone agreed. Wait. No. Not everyone. 

I took a gander to the corner where a guy sat on a stool next to the mini cassette tapes’ apartment hanging on the wall. He was the only one who was not wearing the star section uniform, as always, so it was easier for my eyes to spot him. He looked like a stain. The only black sheep amongst the herd of white. Didn’t he feel embarrassed at all? 

I gave up a heavy blow. I felt my teeth grinding more and more intense as I stayed my eyes to the guy in front of me. I wanted to punch him in the face. Real bad. But I couldn’t. It looked so sensitive and fragile that a single poke on his cheeks would cause his skin an injury. 

I let it slip. I didn’t mind his annoying face. His offensive look. 

But then, he rose his left eyebrow. “What?”

 

It was only a word, but it was enough to make my blood oozing. I was as if a volcano wanting to erupt. I felt the sweltering magma in my head. I couldn’t take it. I wanted to shout. I couldn’t.  

“Have you heard me?” I asked. My eyes were two pin missiles launching to him. 

“Yes.”

“Then why are you not responding?” 

“Because I don’t have anything to say?” 

“Is that a question?” 

“What do you think?” He smiled and zipped his lips close. The end. 

That was it. I was so dumb to believe I could win over him even in a pointless argument. But I couldn’t. I didn’t. He only spoke a few words, but those words were enough to slap me hard in the face how much of a moron I was for paying attention to him. He was smart, okay, I got that. But he acted as if he was not only smart, but also cool, and a boss, and someone we must look up and kneel down to. I hate him. 

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes, flipped my hair, and pivoted back to the center of the music room. I was thinking of raising my middle finger to him, but that would only add insult to the injury. After all, it was Travis Exposito I was dealing with. An A-class sociopath. A one big blister on a foot. 

I headed to the table on the other corner of the room to drink a glass of water from the jug. When I was done quenching my thirst, I pulled Chuck and Jermaine back to the brown carpet at the center to begin the next step of our practice. We started applying the melody to the song. We demonstrated to them how it should sound like by singing the lyrics line by line. 

“I walked through the darkness

In the forest full of trees, 

And then I meet a friend

Walking on a grass full of mist. 

I asked him where he’d go,

He said I should lead the way—

We’re going to a place

Where forever I would stay...” 

We paused. I didn’t expect this song to sound this dramatic. 

Jermaine took her harmonica out of her pocket and placed it in his mouth. She blew it once as if to check if it was sounding okay. Before we continued singing the next part of the song, we waited for Chuck who grabbed his multi-colored acoustic guitar from Jieve. When he was back, he strummed it a few times to confirm if the strings were all in tune. 

“This is how it will sound if with accompaniment,” Jermaine said aloud while facing our classmates. She leaned to me next and whispered something to my ear. “Keep singing up until the chorus. Chuck and I will try to blend it with the instruments.”

I poked my eyebrows as my sign of agreement. She looked Chuck in the eyes, and after a brief moment of staring, they both counted three seconds backwards. As they reached one, they started playing the instruments as I waited for my queue to get in. 

“... And then I pushed the old door open, 

A much darker place welcomed us inside 

I heard a giggle echoed off the walls, 

A laugh of evil played in my mind. 

I called for my new friend, 

To ask him if he was around, 

But then he didn’t answer

And so I fell to the ground.

All of a sudden, 

I felt a slash on my leg, 

A knife chopped through it 

It made me shout in pain. 

Someone killed me.

Someone stabbed me more than thrice. 

I lost my leg, but I remained open my eyes. 

As I grasp for air, I asked help from my friend. 

But he left me dying, and betrayed me in the end. 

Now in my grave, when you hand me back to the Lord

I will not hold back in asking for a wish; 

God, please allow him to kill me again. 

Maybe this time I get justice.” 

As I put an end to the song, a drop of tear suddenly escaped from my eye. As much as I wanted to know how did it come out, I also wanted to understand the faces of the classmates. 

They all looked confused. It was a fusion of fear and hesitation that was written all over their faces. Were they thinking of backing out? Or were they just struck by the message of the song itself? 

After a while, when everyone was finally able to recover from their mini heart attack, Cylvia stepped in to take the job from me. In terms of leadership, she was excellent. She had the ability of making her subordinates unite, so it was the perfect time for her to continue the job. 

“Will you take it from here?”  I asked, though the answer was beyond obvious. 

“Yes, Geodie. Leave the rest to me.” Cylvia patted me on the shoulders and offered me a genuine smile. “You’re going home, right?” 

I nodded. Of course, Cylvia knew that. I lived in the same town as his Daddy’s, and its distance to Hamlet Creek was doubled the distance from the twin’s mansion up to here. In short, among us all, I had the farthest house. 

“You should go now. It’s getting late, “ Jermaine whispered. 

Chuck jerked his head pointing to the door. “We’ll be okay,” he added. 

And so, with all my classmates’ approval, I left the music room earlier than them. I bid my goodbye, wished them good luck in learning the song, and reminded them to not stay later than eight. 

From the door of the music room, I walked straight to the right to get my things from my locker. The hallways were dark. Lights were not yet lightened. But because I knew that the lockers were only by the end of the corridor, I didn’t bother opening the flashlight of my phone at all. 

I reached there in three minutes. I took my ID off my neck because the key to my locker was there. I didn’t have any troubles looking for which locker was mine because technically, we all used different padlocks. I just had to feel which one was shaped a heart and that would be it. My locker. 

After acing the guessing game with only four attempts, I pinned my key through the keyhole and pulled the door open. With my right hand, I searched the entire safe for my bag. As far as I could remember, the only things inside my locker was my backpack, my arnis sticks, a pair of socks, and my training rubber shoes. But after feeling them all, I could tell that there was something else other than the mentioned stuff. They were two soft, slimy little balls. They felt nice, though. However, swear to God I didn’t have it. I didn’t even know how did they got there. 

Frightened of what were those, I was forced to draw my phone out and light its torch on. Without any further, I lit it up straight into the locker. 

I screamed on what I saw. 

Those weren’t just balls.

Those were eyeballs.