["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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CASTIEL
I WAS not born yesterday. I knew exactly what I was doing and understood the consequences of my actions. I was prepared to face them alone. Fabienne was getting worried about nothing. Kung ako sa kaniya, hindi ko na pakikialaman ang mga isyu sa USC. Mas bibigyan ko ng pansin ang audition para sa susunod na theater production. Between us, I was not the only who needed to make amends and repair my reputation. May atraso rin siya sa teatro.
Within twenty-four hours, news of my officers' temporary suspension reached The Herald. This morning, as I approached their circulation desk at the entrance of the admin building, I grabbed a copy of their latest issue and spread it before me. There was no need to search for the article's placement—it happened to be the banner story.
USC Acting Pres suspends 3 officers
The Herald staffers at the desk stared at me for a moment. Inirolyo ko na ang diyaryo at inipit sa aking braso bago nagpatuloy sa paglalakad. They must have been thinking, "this guy must be a wannabe dictator!" They would have been partially correct if they did.
I would not lie. Indefinitely suspending Sabrina, Rowan, and even Lavinia was not easy for me. We had been through so many trials together—except for the lady chief-of-staff who was relatively new. But it had to be done. For those in power, making the hardest decisions required the toughest of guts. Little did they know, I was doing them a favor by sparing them from the burden of what I was about to do next.
When I arrived at the USC office—for the second time since assuming the acting presidency—the atmosphere here was markedly different from when we took our oaths. It had drastically changed over the past two months. First, Valeria's resignation. Next, Priam's attempted assassination. Now, the suspension of three USC officers. Regardless of how long I would serve as acting president, the feeling within this place would never be the same again.
I passed Rowan's now-vacant cubicle. He had been a walking ball of sunshine in this office. Now that he was suspended, the atmosphere felt somewhat subdued... and darker. I had hoped for a temporary separation on good terms, but I had only strained our working relationship further.
Beyond the public information officer's area was Tabitha's cubicle. She sat there, sipping her daily coffee from Astra Blend Cafe while absorbed in her phone. She did not lift her gaze or acknowledge my presence. Maybe she had not noticed me yet, or maybe she simply did not care.
I would dearly miss Sabrina. Though quiet, she made her presence felt through her dedicated work ethic. I would miss her meticulous organization for our meetings and her reliability for confidential missions. But alas, we had to part ways for now.
And Lavinia? I did not know her well enough to say I would miss her, too. Maybe her efforts to challenge me and prove herself worthy of replacing me as chief-of-staff. Yet, her temporary departure brought relief. I had not determined yet if I could fully trust her, so her absence lifted my suspicions.
