["PLAY THE KING" IS ACT TWO OF THE "PLAY" SERIES. PLEASE READ "PLAY THE QUEEN" FIRST.]
It's been four months since Priam Torres, the once unpopular president of the Elysian University Student Council, assumed office. Thanks to his chief-of-staff Cas...
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REYNARD
"THEY HAD it coming," I muttered before tossing the latest release of The Herald aside. Tumayo ako at ipinagpatuloy ang pagpa-pack ng school supplies na ipinapa-prepare para sa isang donation drive. We were almost done with the task so I got the time to goof around.
Grabe, ang sakit na ng balakang ko! I would need a relaxing back massage.
"Bakit basta-basta mo itinatapon 'yan?" tanong ni Michelangelo sabay pulot sa diyaryo. He spread it in front of him, then his eyebrows furrowed. What caught my attention must have also caught his.
"Mas nagiging exciting na ang politika sa uni natin," I said with a smirk, lifting the last remaining bags of supplies from the floor to the table. "Do you think they deserve to be impeached? The president and the VP, I mean?"
"I don't care about the VP." He gritted his teeth, revealing the fangs of a disgraced tiger. Baka bigla niya akong kagatin! "But that Priam Torres? He surely deserves it. May atraso pa siya sa 'kin."
"Dahil ba sa ex mo?"
"Because of him, I was humiliated in the entire school. Dahil sa kaniya kaya ako nandito."
In the president's defense, Michelangelo brought this upon himself. Kung may dapat siyang sisihin, walang iba kundi ang sarili niya. But it was much easier and more convenient to blame other people for one's own misfortune.
"I also have a score to settle with him." I sat on the edge of the table, my palms flat on the surface. "If it weren't for him and his council, I wouldn't be here."
Umangat ang isa niyang kilay, nagtatakang bumaling ng tingin sa direksiyon ko. "I thought you're here because you triggered the fire alarm in your office?"
"That's just me throwing tantrums!" I threw my hands in the air. "Kung hindi ako napahiya ro'n sa explosive exclusive expose ko, hindi ako pagagalitan ng editors ko. Kung hindi ako pinagsabihan ng editors ko, hindi ko maiisipang laruin ang fire alarm. 'Tapos na-demote pa ako from USC beat to LEXECOM beat. It's all Priam's fault—he and his underlings."
Uttering those words didn't sit well with me. As much as possible, I didn't want to lie or exaggerate my feelings. I was a bit upset about the first part, but not the rest—also, not at Priam, but at Castiel. When it came to undercover missions, I had to say the stuff that my target wanted to hear to win their trust.
"Baka naka-karma na sila ngayon." Nilamukos ng kasama ko ang diyaryo at shinoot sa trash bin na nasa sulok. Hindi na ako nagtatakang siya ang team captain ng basketball team kasi pumasok ang binilog niyang diyaryo. Pero sayang ang mga papel. Sayang ang punong pinutol para doon. Oh, well. "Mabuti't nandiyan si 'Ric para turuan ng leksiyon ang gagong 'yon."
"Ric?" My left eyebrow inched upward.
"Si Alaric," paglilinaw niya. "We can just grab a bucket of popcorn and watch them squirm."
