Mahingga

Chapter 9: Pawidans

School the next day was boring. Exactly what Ako could hope for. He'd expected some kind of news report to come up on everybody's Palams about a break-in at the aircraft facility, but there was nothing. He couldn't help but feel disappointed. They probably didn't realize that the aircraft had actually been activated—unless Taiyo told them. Maybe that's why they hadn't heard anything. Maybe Taiyo had lost his job, or maybe he was even thrown in prison.

Ako entered the lunchroom, worry digging at his stomach more than hunger. After grabbing a tray of food, he hurried to his seat and sent Taiyo a message, "Anything?"

A response came within seconds that said, "No. But I think I'm going to propose the possibility of electricity to them. We've looked at the damage report from our escapade, and I'm pointing out the electrical wires. You're a genius, Ako."

Ako smiled to himself. It wasn't very telling, but perhaps no news was good news. From across the lunchroom, Kita glanced up at him. She'd probably been as nervous as him, but she didn't have a Palam with which to figure anything out. She indicated the door with her eyes, and he sighed, dropping his head.

When Ako stood up to go, Kaib said, "What's with the limp?"

Ako shrugged. "Taiyo took me on a hike last night. I guess I'm a little out of shape." It was basically true. Kaib laughed either way. In all honesty, Ako's legs felt horrible, and there were bruises and nicks up and down the whole length. He wasn't about to mention that, though.

Kita made her way out the door before Ako got there. When Ako got outside, he barely saw her turn the corner, heading to the back of the building. Ako followed after, waving to a couple of friends that were thankfully walking the other way. He rounded the building and found Kita pacing around a coconut tree.

"So, what's going on?" Kita asked, her voice a little louder than Ako would have liked.

"Nothing as far as I can tell." He kept his voice low.

"Ako, do you realize what happened last night?" She asked, stopping in front of him, her green eyes hard.

"Yeah, we found out that the aircraft uses electricity. That's pretty amazing."

"No, I mean." She rubbed a hand across her forehead. "Other Pawids were trying to communicate with us. I think that was a live transmission."

Ako scratched his head. That didn't really have much to do with figuring out how to fly... unless they could get blueprints from the Pawids via communication. "Yeah, I guess that could have been the case." His lips curled in a smile.

She shook her head, "No, you don't get it. It means that my people are out there somewhere. We're not alone on this stupid island." She was almost shouting.

Ako shushed her. "Hey, Mahingga's not stupid."

"Oh, yes, it is," she said, pointing a finger at him. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be repressed? I don't think you even know what that word means." She folded her arms. "It's not fair for us here, Ako. Did you know I'm the first Pawid to attend the university?"

Ako didn't know what to say. He wasn't really sure what she was ranting about. All he could say was, "Um."

Kita rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I guess that's what I could expect by asking an engineer about a sociological problem." She let out a sigh. "Anyway, just know that I intend to do something about all this, alright?" She didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she strode back towards the front of the building.

Ako shook his head and walked back around the building as well, almost bumping into Dala.

She looked at him with her dark eyes and his weakened knees got a little weaker. "You weren't back there kissing that paleface were you?" she demanded.