["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
FINALLY, THE fun was about to start!
It had been a week since the start of the first semester. Walang masyadong ganap no'ng unang linggo dahil mostly ay distribution at discussion ng course syllabus. Wala ring masyadong ganap sa 'kin sa Herald dahil 'di pa nagre-resume no'n ang LEXECOM sessions. The only thing keeping me intrigued was whether or not Alaric Esteban had any involvement in Priam Torres' assassination.
On one hand, the idea seemed so outlandish that I was tempted to dismiss it immediately. It felt presumptous of me to judge him, but he didn't strike me as the type to resort to such drastic measures for campus politics. Besides, he was quite well-liked and he held significant control within the LEXECOM. Walang dahilan para gumawa siya ng bagay na posibleng maglagay sa kaniya sa isang seryosong controversy. If he was implicated in the assassination, it would likely spell the end for him.
On the other hand, it would be unfair to ignore that possibility. Journalism was all about seeking every perspective and figuring out which was the truth. Parang pagiging detective o police din 'yan. We needed to explore every angle and motive to piece together the puzzle and uncover the full story. If he was overly confident in his ability to get away with anything, he might have tested the limits. But that seemed crazy, especially given his position.
I got an idea from my best bud Michelangelo. It wasn't a solid lead, but it was something worth investigating soon.
Later in the afternoon, after stopping by the editorial office to say hi to my colleagues, I headed straight to the LEXECOM office for their first official session this semester. No show pa rin si Castiel sa USC office at class niya. His temporary assumption of the presidency raised an important question: Who would chair the committee meetings now that the vice president—who was also the presiding officer—was acting as president?
The answer became clear right away.
"Good afternoon," greeted Alaric Esteban, the majority leader. Umupo siya sa puwesto ng presiding officer at hinawakan ang gavel. "In accordance with the established rules of this committee, I, as the chair pro tempore, will oversee our session due to the vacancy in the presiding officer's position. I will now call the roll. Kindly say 'present' when your name is called. I will start with Avrille Mae Padilla from the College of Allied Medical Professions..."
Each person around the decagonal table responded with "present" once recognized. New semester, but same faces except for one—the representative from the College of Computer Studies. Dahil sa scandal na kinaharap ni Chevy Serrano, ang protest na humarang sa promotion ni Orlando Taneda, at ang hindi pag-enroll ni Mason Urbina ngayong semester, may bago na namang representative ang CCS sa LEXECOM. Her name is Palmira Delgado, a junior IT student and the lone independent in their college student council.
I wonder how she's gonna shake things up. I heard from my fellow Herald reporter covering CCS that she was leaning toward AEGIS' policies, but she had also voted a few times with the SALVo councilors in their council.
