Trickster of the Butterfly

Chapter 14- From the Dead

The next day...

Professor Liam Afraz, the classy philosophy professor, was going overtime. She wore a yellow long sleeved blouse and black pants as she taught with all the confidence of an actual philosopher in front of an audience that was getting increasingly bored. A lapel mic set hung from her waist. Her habit of blurting out 10 words a second didn't help her students to listen any easier.

"Ang Pilipino kasi mas-focused sa group betterment more than self-improvement, that is the big difference between our own philosophy with that of the ideologies of the more developed countries," she said all that in one breath. Her lapel mic suddenly made a loud feedback noise. "Oh my goodness, patayin ko na nga 'to!" she clicked the off-switch then continued in her normal voice as loud as she could.

"Overtime na si Ma'am," Alora's seatmate whispered.

"Oo nga eh," Alora whispered back.

Sarah leaned forward and tapped on Alora's shoulder from the seat behind her. "Alowwy, may biscuit ka diyan?" she said quietly. "Wala pa si Mike eh. Wala pa tuloy yung Oreo ko."

"Sorry wala eh," she replied. "Si Joy at Hera nga rin wala eh ano kaya nayari sa kanila," she whispered worriedly

"Ughhhh. Inaantok na rin ako," Sarah rested her head on Alora's seat's backrest.

"Ms. Quilala!" Professor Afraz got Sarah and Alora's attention back to her. "Baka pwede ka magbigay ng situation kung saan applicable ang ideals natin na related sa pakikipagkapwa tao and Ms. Kaye," she shot a look at Alora, "maybe you could define the concept of "kapwa" in our culture."

"Umm, situation, ma'am?" Sarah was at a loss.

Even though she was also caught off guard, Alora stood from her seat and spoke as confidently as she could. "Kapwa, that concept in our culture shows na sa mga Pilipino, ang mga usual na nakakasama ng isang tao ay super-valuable sa kanya at gagawin niya lahat para makatulong sa kanila."

"Well said, that is correct Ms. Kaye, you may sit down. What about you Ms. Quilala-" she was interrupted by a sweaty boy with a bulky backpack storming through the classroom's doorway. All eyes turned to him.

"Wooh! Sorry I'm late Ma'am!" Michael tried to catch his breath.

"Oh so glad you could join us Mr. Randelo. San ka ba nanggaling? Nasa coma ka ba for three weeks?" she chuckled at that.

"Actually Ma'am, yes, galing nga po ako sa coma. Pero two days lang po at isang meeting pa lang namimiss ko po," he wiped off some sweat with his handkerchief and took a quick glance at Alora. Sarah waved hello at Michael.

"Ah very well. Sige... ay wait anong oras na? Overtime na pala ako no?" Ms. Afraz checked her watch then she began packing her lapel mic and other stuff into her shoulder bag. "Mr. Randelo ha, we have a quiz next week. Kumopya ka na lang ng notes sa mga kaklase mo. I'll let you off for now, tardy but not absent. Goodbye class!" Ms. Afraz finished packing.

"Goodbye Ma'am!" the whole class said then began chatting around.

"Thank you, thank you ma'am," Michael said to the professor before she left then walked over to his seat and exhaled a sigh of relief.

Michael had thought he could've frozen time so he could get to philosophy class earlier but he didn't want to get too drowsy for their next class period and besides, he couldn't freeze the classroom until he got near enough. Stopping the whole school wasn't an option either.

"Uy anong nayari sa 'yo?" Sarah said from her seat in front of him. "Pero salamat ah, nung dumating ka nakalimutan tuloy ni Ma'am na pasagutin ako, hihihihi! Oo nga pala, kanina ko pa hinihintay yung pampagising ko na cookies!"

Michael was still gasping to catch his breath. He opened a pack of Oreos from his bag and offered some to Sarah. "Tumakbo na nga ako paakyat eh. Late na ako nakatulog kasi kaka-discharge ko lang sa hospital kagabi," he took a cookie for himself. He looked over to Alora and felt relieved that she was alright after her injuries.

"Ahh ok," Sarah munched down on her third Oreo now. "Wala ka namang masyadong namiss, may quiz lang next meeting. At alam mo ba? Dadating daw yung Silent Sanctuary para sa Christmas event ng PLM!"

"Silent Sanctuary? Sino yun? And wow may event pala sila para sa Pasko?" Michael stood up and pretended to stretched his back, he was actually trying to get a good look at Alora, who was busy writing something.

"Oo Silent Sanctuary. Diba yun sila yun," Sarah insisted he knew who they were.

Michael could be honest that he really didn't know much about Original Pilipino Music. He just wasn't able to immerse himself in that kind of genre enough to make him know who in the world Silent Sanctuary was.

"Umm okay," he sat down again. "Okay lang ba si Alora? Eh si Hera wala pa?"

"Okay lang naman si Alora. Si Hera absent siya ngayon. Sige matulog muna ako, wala pa naman si Ma'am Anne eh," she popped one last Oreo in her mouth then dozed off on her armchair.

Michael couldn't stand it, he felt the urge to ask if Alora really was okay. He stood up and walked over to her row.

"Alora," his heart sank when he saw the long slash wound on her left arm and the gash on her forehead. Guilt and anger washed over him. He thought he may have been overreacting a bit but he remembered his near hopelessness to save his friend that night. He hesitated to talk to her.

"Uy Mike! Bumalik ka na sa patay? Zombie ka na ba?" Michael felt a weight get lifted from his chest as he heard Alora's humorous and cheerful tone.

"Ha-ha. Ok lang ako no," he shrugged. "Umm, pwedeng halika muna, usap tayo sa labas."

They went out of the classroom. It was a good thing their English teacher wasn't there yet.

"Alora, sobrang laking thank you lang talaga nung tinapatan mo yung mga gangster na yun. Next time turuan mo ako ng mga moves mo ha."

"Sus! Alangan namang iwanin ka lang namin dun. Muntik ka na kayang mamatay!"

"Pero..." Michael's expression turned grim. "Sobrang sorry din na muntikan ka nang..." his voice began to quiver. "Hindi ko alam kung ano dapat gagawin nila sa'yo. Sorry muntikan ka na-"

"Ano ka ba? Okay lang!" she interrupted. "Kung papano mo man natalo sila, niligtas mo rin ako. Thank God na lang na okay na tayo, okay?" she beamed a warm smile at him.

Alora's words comforted Michael. That girl's level-headedness and faithful disposition knocked him out of his gloominess. He gave her a smile filled with gratitude.

For a moment, he considered he could share to Alora about the Butterfly, but no, he just felt it was too dangerous. Superheroes kept their powers a secret so the ones they loved wouldn't get dragged into their superpowered messes. The dreadful image of the smoky hands of a giant flashed in his mind for a second.

"Thanks Alora. I needed that," he had a more relaxed tone now. "Si Hera kaya anong nayari dun?"

"Actually nag-text siya sakin kanina, tinatamad lang daw siya pumasok ngayon," she giggled at that.

Michael saw Ms. Anne down the hallway heading their direction.

"Ah, nandyan na pala si Ma'am. Pasok na tayo," Michael said.

"Wala naman tayong assignment sa kanya diba?"

"Alam ko wala eh. Pero, sino ba talaga yung Silent Sanctuary?" he asked as they went back in the room.