SELENE [BOOK 2]

CHAPTER 11

“Doc, may tawag po kayo," biglang sabi ng sekretarya ko ng katokin ako nito sa loob.

Inangat ko ang ulo ko. I looked at her seriously. "Sino raw?" tanong ko.

"Principal ata ng school ng bunso mo, Doc." Nag-aalalang wika nito sa akin.

Napakunot ang noo ko. Principal? Lucas?

Napatayo ako. Did something happen? Kinuha ko sa sekretarya ang telepono at sinagot ito.

"Hello?" I greeted the other line.

"Good afternoon, Doc," bungad nito. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, I know how busy you are, especially at this hour, but this is about your son..."

"Yeah? What about my son? Did he do something, Ma'am?" I calmly asked.

"A-Ah, n-no, no. Actually, his advisor just came into me and said that Lucas didn't come to school after lunch break. I would like to ask if your son is home," she asked carefully.

Agad akong umiling kahit hindi naman ako nito nakikita. I looked at my wristwatch before answering. It's already two o'clock in the afternoon.

"No, he's not at home, I am sure of that, Ma'am, ako mismo ang sumusundo lagi sa mga bata, si Steve naman kung busy na talaga ako," I answered.

"Kung ganoon, bakit wala ang batang iyon at hindi pumasok? The guards have already checked the possible places here in the school where he went, but there's no trace of him. Sabi ng isang nakakita sa kanya ay umiiyak itong lumalabas ng gate." The principal explained.

Parang nawalan ako ng lakas sa narinig. Napahawak ako sa ulo ko ng bigla akong mahilo. Hindi ako nakapag salita agad.

Tahimik lang sa gilid ang sekretarya ko.

"C-Crying? Did someone bully him?” I asked. My son wouldn't cry and just ran away crying for no reason.

"No, Doc. Actually yur son is a very friendly kid in their batch, and we didn't receive any complaints of bullying in the school."

"T-Then, why is he crying? Why did he run?" wala sa sariling tanong ko.

I calmed myself. I can feel my hands already shaking.

"I'm sorry that this happened. We didn't expect this, and the security team is already finding him as soon as possible." The principal said.

"I thought my son would be safe in that school because of the tight security, but how come they let my son go out alone? If something happens to my son, I'll sue that school!" I burst out.

Hiningal ako.

"Huminahon po muna kayo, Ma'am, ginagawan na nmin ito ng paraan. We would like you to come here. We're already checking the CCTV near the area to locate his location." The principal said, trying to calm me down.

I tried to calm down but I couldn't. "How can I calm down here when my son is nowhere to be found?! My son will not cry and run out of the school for no reason, I'm sure he has a reason!"

"I understand what you're feeling right now, Doc, and we're truly sorry and we'll make sure that this will not happen again."

"I'll go there," sabi ko sabay patay ng linya at mabilis na dinaial ang numero ni Steve sa cellphone ko.

"Selene?" salita ni Steve.

"S-Steve, sinundo mo ba si Lucas sa school niya?" nanginginig na tanong ko. “Or did he contact you?” dagdag kong tanong.

Nagbabasakali na umuwi at tinawagan siya ni Lucas para sunduin.

"No, why?" Steve replied. "Wait, what's wrong? Are you crying?" tanong nito ng mapansin ang panginginig ng boses ko.