Challengers

19 : The Path to Mystery

I had always been a fan of crime novels and mystery series, so learning that the next challenge would be about that genre kind of lifted my mood. At least, magkakaroon na ako ng pambawi mula sa kahihiyang naranasan ko mula sa horror house challenge.

"Buti pa kayo nakatulog kagabi," sabi ni Brian nang makaupo kaming apat sa isang bakanteng lamesa.

"Si Elix lang ang nakatulog nang maayos," chuckled Roi. "Parang mga 9:30 p.m., bagsak na siya ro'n sa bean bag, eh. Ako mga 2:30 a.m. siguro."

"Ang aga," Yena murmured while sipping her morning coffee. "Pero buti nakatulog ka kahit maingay sa paligid."

"Napagod 'yan kakasigaw sa loob ng horror house," sabay tawa ni Roi kaya sinamaan ko siya ng tingin. "Knockout agad."

I remained silent while drinking my coffee but I was already chiding Roi inside my head. Ayaw ko na ngang maalala ang mga nangyari pero ang dami niya pa ring sinasabi. Nakakahiya pa lalo dahil hindi naman namin ka-group ang mga kasabay naming kumain.

Fortunately, the topic shifted to the next challenge when Brian mentioned it.

"Mukhang may advantage kayo this time," he said. "Three of you have written crime and mystery stories."

"Oh, wow," remarked Yena.

"Ah, puro fantasy writers pala kayo sa group n'yo!" sabay turo ni Roi sa kanilang dalawa.

"Yup. I do write horror stories but it's still a bit different compared to crime novels," Brian added.

"Oh-hoh." Roi grinned widely as he crossed his arms in front of them. "Mukhang matataasan namin kayo sa ranking this time."

Huh. I couldn't believe it. He was starting to sound like Zion with that kind of smugness and competitiveness.

"Ah, right. You said Elix writes mystery and fantasy stories," sabi naman bigla ni Yena habang nakatingin kay Brian. Her gaze shifted to me. "He's your fan."

"Yena—!"

Naramdaman ko ang pag-init ng mukha ko. I mean, these writers were amassing millions of reads per story and had their solid readership in the community. They were respected because of their well-written crafts, and I felt grateful, embarrassed, and pressured all at the same time after knowing that they were reading mine.

"R-right. Sabi niya nga," mahina kong sagot.

"Oh, so you already know. Then, alam mo rin bang—"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence because Brian wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and covered her mouth with his right hand.

"You seem talkative today, baka maubos na energy mo mamaya," he said while looking weirdly at Yena. Agad namang bumaling ang tingin niya sa amin at ngumiti. "Sige, mauna na kami. Magdi-discuss pa kami tungkol sa challenge. Bye!"

He was still covering Yena's mouth while they were getting up, which kinda looked funny. I didn't expect them to be that close after a week of being together, but maybe it was easier because they had the same vibe. And they looked cute together.

"Balik na rin ba tayo?" tanong ni Roi.

"Sige. Bibilhan ba natin sila ng kape?"

"Hmm, sige. Parang dragon pa naman si Zion kapag hindi nakapag-kape," sabay tawa niya.

We spent a bronze coin for two cups of coffee and walked back to our cabin, but something seemed strange.

Habang naglalakad kami pabalik ay ang daming production staff na naglalakad. Usually, hindi sila nagpapakita dahil baka mahagip sila sa cameras, but this time, it felt like they were intentionally showing themselves. Isa pa, wala silang specific na pinupuntahan. They were just loitering around writers, which means . . .