Blood Menace

23- End of the Beginning

This chapter has spoilers. If you haven't read Sentry yet, please, read it first.

Thank you.

***
Two months came and went. Patapos na ang training nina Kam sa Surial. At stressed siya dahil may na-realize s'ya.

She wasn't a very good Sentry.

She failed or scored very low on her tests. She could fight, alright. She aced her written tests. But in actual scenarios, she couldn't fulfill her tasks alone. And she couldn't understand why.

"What's wrong, Kam? I've given you doable tasks. Why can't you do them?" may lungkot sa boses ni Tryx habang nasa coffeeshop silang dalawa nang hapong 'yun.

Bukas na ang balik nila sa academy at isa-isa silang kinakausap ni Tryx.

Nahihiya siya. Sobra. Alam ng lahat sa academy na isa siya top one n'ong Freshmen year nila. Pero bakit ganito?

"And I'm sure it's not because of incompetence. Magaling kang makipaglaban? I saw how much you've improved using the dagger I gifted you. You're just unable to complete my lists of tasks. Is it time management? Priority?"

"Both," nakayuko ang ulong amin ni Kam.

Pinagkrus ni Tryx ang mga braso sa dibdib nito saka ito sumandal sa upuan nito para titigan s'ya.

"Alam mong fifty percent ng grades mo this semester ay galing sa field training na 'to, hindi ba? And I can't give you a high mark just because we're friends."

"Alam ko, Tryx. Ayaw ko mang tanggapin pero wala na akong choice. I failed and I acknowledged that."

"I will not sugarcoat this, Kam. You're not going to be the top one student this semester. I have to be truthful here."

Ayaw umiyak ni Kam. Hindi siya hihikbi sa harapan ng kahit na sino.

Pero malungkot siya.

At nababahala.

"What about your parents? They want you to be the top student all the time."

Malungkot na ngumiti si Kam sa kaibigan. "They're going to order me to go back to Chilakest. That's for sure. At ipapamukha nila sa akin ang failure ko."

"I'm sorry, Kam. I wish I could help you change their mind."

"It's okay, Tryx. Baka pwede ko naman silang pakiusapan."

But she knew that would be a hard thing to do. Kapag hindi siya naging top one, walang pag-aalinlangan na uutusan siya ng mga magulang na umuwi. At kung hindi siya sumunod, paniguradong susunduin s'ya ng mga ito at kakaladkarin pauwi.

She sighed. Mahirap talagang magkaroon ng mga magulang na katulad ng sa kanya na mas mahal ang pera at reputasyon kesa sa sariling anak.

"Are you ready to go back to the academy?"

No, she wasn't, but she didn't have a choice. Kailangan n'yang bumalik at maghintay kung kelan siya pauuwiin.

—-
Nag-train sina Kam pabalik sa academy at panay ang tawanan ng kanyang mga kasama. Puro kalokohan at minsan ay nag babaraha sila para malibang.

For the first time in her life, she didn't open a book during a long travel. She tried to enjoy and she succeeded. Nakitawa siya at nakipagkwentuhan.

Isa-isa niyang tiningnan ang kanyang mga kasama.

Si Mandy. Ito ang pinakabago niyang nakilala. Friendly at straightforward itong magsalita. Maliwanag ang future nito sa academy. Kam wished her the best.