Mark The Code [ COMPLETED ]

Unwanted Letter

Steinhart Sevilla Pov

One week had passed.

Lumabas na ako ng classroom at iniwan si Nimrod na abala sa pakikipag-usap sa mga kagrupo nito para sa gagawing project tungkol sa club nila. Habang naglalakad ay nakikita ko sa transparent na bintana rito sa hallway ang malawak na lupain na mayroon ang academy. Sa pagdaan ng mga araw ay wala pa ring pagbabago sa mga namumukadkad na mga bulaklak, habang tumatagal ay lalo silang nadadagdagan at lalo pang gumaganda na nagbibigay kulay sa buong kapaligiran.

Ang mga nagtataasang mga puno ay sumasabay sa marahang pag-ihip ng hangin na tila sumasayaw pa. Tulad ng mga ibon ay malaya rin ang mga ito na lumilipad sa himpapawid sa ilalim ng maaliwalas na kalangitan at ang magandang sikat ng araw.

Pumunta ako sa left wing ng building kung saan matatagpuan ang mga locker ng mga estudyante na pinaglalagyan at pinag-iiwanan ng ilang mga gamit. Kailangan kong kunin ang ilang textbooks ko na kakailanganin sa discussion mamayang tanghali, dahil siguradong dadagsa ang mga estudyante sa locker mamaya para kumuha ng libro, mabuti nang agahan ko ang pagkuha.

I immediately looked for the key in my pocket. As I put the small piece of metal in the key hole, I ignored the students talking loudly behind my back. Loud and obnoxious chattering noises really irritated me. I knew that the look on my face portrayed something scary, like a curse that everyone was scared of. If anyone tried to come close to me or talk to me, I could take their breaths off, but of course, I was just kidding about that.

When the locker was unlocked, I slowly opened the metal door and noticed something inside. My world stopped for a second when I finally realized that it was a small, white envelope.

I felt goosebumps all over my body. Tiny beads of sweat started to form on my forehead. With my trembling hands, I slowly picked up the envelope. I couldn't even explain what I was feeling right now, my breathing became heavy, and my heart was beating beyond normal.

This was very strange. Never in my wildest dreams that I imagined that I would encounter something like this. I couldn't think clearly. What if this piece of paper in my hands was a death threat? I slightly took off the lid when . . .

"Steinhart!"' Nimrod shouted at me. I jumped a little. I touched my chest because I felt like any moment, my heart would jump out of my ribcage. I facepalmed, took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and looked up

Jusko! Patawarin n'yo po ako, baka po makasakit ako nang wala sa oras, bulong ko sa sarili ko.

I turned around to my childhood friend and gave him a dirty look. Nimrod scratched the back of his head.

"You scared me!" I hissed at him.

Nimrod muttered a sorry and patted my shoulder. I just walked straight and tried to avoid him, but Nimrod still followed me while asking about the white envelope I was holding. He kept on blabbing some things about the paper, if it was a love letter? Or an application form about the clubs?

We sat down on the wooden bench. Nimrod tried to open his mouth to ask me again, but I immediately stopped him by glaring at him. I was not in the mood. I finally tore the envelope apart and pulled out a tiny, white paper inside.

Is this a joke? I asked myself and shook my head.

Sa sobrang seryoso ko sa pagtingin sa papel na hawak ko ay nakalimutan ko nang may kasama at katabi pala ako. Hinablot ni Nimrod ang hawak kong papel at binasa ang mga letrang nakaimprenta roon.

"D-D-O-E-N-F-T-I-T-V-R-E-Y-M-T-E-O," Nimrod said in a low voice. His eyebrows looked like they were going to meet in the middle.

"I think that someone is playing with me." I grabbed the paper from him.

Kahit ilang beses ko pang pagbali-baliktarin ang papel ay walang akong makitang importante rito. Tiningnan ako ni Nimrod na parang may hinahanap, umusog pa ito nang kaunti hanggang sa magdikit na kami sa pagkakaupo. Kinuha nito ang punit na envelope na maliit kung saan nakapaloob ang papel na may sulat. Nang tingnan niya nang maigi ang envelope ay may salita itong binanggit.

"XO," he whispered.

Suddenly, his eyes were wide open like he had just seen a ghost. Nimrod started to talk, stating the words that I couldn't clearly understand. Instead, he reached for his cellphone and shoved it in front of my face. I grabbed his hand and slightly pushed his hand forward as I read the article that was flashed on the screen.

Code Breakers Club beats XO.

The Code Breakers Club president saves a student again.

CB Club saves the Arch Academy in a bomb threat incident.

I silently scanned the article using my eyes. I never heard about XO and Code Breakers, but now, I was interested to know who was behind this little incident because of the word code.

I looked and studied the scrambled letters. It was a complete mess. I never experienced something like this in my entire existence. I just watched mystery, thriller, and solving cases videos and never thought I could do it in real life. I tried to solve it because I was anxious.

Paano kung may ibig sabihin ang mga letra na 'yun?

Pumikit ako at pinakalma ang sarili. Ayaw kong isipin na may masamang kahulugan ang mga letra na iyon. Abala pa rin si Nimrod sa pagbabasa sa sarili nitong phone. Habang ako ay nagsisimula nang magdasal na sana ay walang ibig sabihin ang natanggap kong sulat.

Bakit bibigyan ako ng ganoong klaseng mensahe?

Huminga ako nang malalim at muling hinarap ang sulat sa puting papel.

DDOENFT.

I stopped for a second. I reached for my bag and got a piece of paper and a black pen inside. My first attempt was nonsense. Pakiramdam ko ay mawawalan ako ng bait sa sobrang pag-iisip dahil wala akong maintindihan sa ginagawa ko.

FED NOT.

I crumpled the small piece of paper and tried again. Muntik na akong magmura sa inis dahil wala pa rin akong makuhang sagot.

DDOENFTITNREYMIEO.

I sighed and took a deep breath. What in the world was this sheet? Hindi pa rin ako tumigil kahit nararamdaman ko nang pumipintig na ang mga ugat ko sa noo sa sobrang inis.

I wrote IT RENT MY TEO, but I still couldn't solve it. I tore the paper into half and leaned my back against the bench.

"Bakit ba nagpapaapekto ako sa sulat na 'to? Sumasakit lang ang ulo ko. Madapa sana ang gumawa nu'ng sulat!" sigaw ko at hindi na pinasin ang mga taong nakarinig sa mga pagrereklamo ko.

I looked at Nimrod who was still reading the news. I never really gave interest to news like that, but he looked fascinated with it. All I wanted was to solve this code as soon as I could.

Nahulog sa sahig ang sulat na natanggap ko. Walang gana ko itong pinulot at nang maupo ulit ako at sumandal sa upuan ay napansin ko ang papel na hawak ko. Ilang daliri ko ang tumakip sa mga letra kung saan may isang salita akong nakita.

#