Afterlife

X. Truth and Lies

Chapter 10 :
Truth and Lies

"Nakapasok kami sa Oracle." deretsong sabi ni Gilbert sa aming mga kaklase with his chin raised as if he was still proud even though it was dangerous. Some looked at each other while others asked him questions.

"Hindi nga?"

"Dapat hindi na kayo nakalabas no'n, haha!"

"Ewan namin sa iyo!"

"Oo nga! Ba't ba ayaw n'yong maniwala? Kung ako sa inyo, tanungin n'yo ang prinsesa!" he added reason to turn them to me. I immediately averted my eyes from them as I found Hildegard in front of me with both her arms crossed.

We got out safely yesterday. After what happened to Faris and me, Artemis came and rescued Mika and the others while she took me home to Faris. Good thing, we survived. But it linger in my mind why Faris is also in Oracle Tower. What's on the door where he came from?

"Chloe, can we talk?" she said calmly to me but I had a feeling she was going to scold me. I sighed and then followed her. We stopped in a corner some distance away from our classmates. Naisalubong niya ang kaniyang kilay sa akin as she looked me straight in the eye. Naging usap-usapan nilang lahat ako ngunit hindi ko sila pinansin. "I can't believe you're going to go along with the antics of a Gilbert McBride. You are just ruining your reputation."

Eh?

I frowned. "Why? Why does that seem like a big deal to all of you?"

"Because you're the queen of the school." she stated. "You're pretty, smart, you're popular and talented,"

Great. Just great.

The door creaked suddenly causing us to turn to the door. We found our professor standing in the door holding a stick, laptop and lecture books. Agad kaming bumalik sa kaniya-kaniya upuan and then took out the bag of notebook and pen.

"Good morning, class,"

"Good morning, sir!" bati naming lahat.

"Before we start, I will check your attendance first," he added and then one by one he called our surnames. After checking the attendance, he proceeded to discuss. "Naniniwala ba kayo sa kabilang buhay, class?" others agreed while others disagreed while I remained silent. "The truth is, there is a possibility that you will end up in the afterlife. But, there is also a possibility that your state in life is different,"

Interesting.

If so, what would my situation be now in the afterlife? Am I rich? Have friends? Am I with my parents? I bet, a Zoe Lee's life in the afterlife is great. She may not regret living in the world, not suffering, and not knowing the definition of sadness and depression. Sana ako na lang iyon. But what I ask for is impossible, especially since I know the world is cruel.

Someone raised his hand as the professor stood him in his seat. "Sir, paano po?"

"Simple. When someone has triggered magic or someone wants to convey the world to someone." from his smiling face, his face suddenly became serious as I frowned in my seat. "But it will not be easy. There is a timer attached to your arm and when the allotted time expires, one will be perish and only one may survive in reality,"

Ako'y nanigas sa aking kinauupuan. I seem to have come up with a puzzle. I glanced at the timer placed on my arm.

312hr : 30m : 43s

I have three hundred twelve hours, thirty minutes, and forty three seconds. Is this for real? Why does time seem so fast? Does that mean Chloe and I swapped places? Am I already in the afterlife?