Carnage of Vicinity (At a Not-So-Ordinary Senior High)

CHAPTER 07: Seperate Dilemma

RAINIER

If there's one thing I admired about Vicinity and Cameron, it's their capacity to get through obstacles thrown at their way, intentional man ang obstacles na 'yon o hindi.

Imagine bumping into a problematic lady who makes a big deal out of small inconveniences. Kung ako siguro ang nakaharap ni Ember Magtalas, baka naipamukha ko na sa kaniya kung gaano siya ka-pety. Para siyang may grudge towards the two, and I couldn't think of any kind of grudge na magtutulak sa kaniyang magkaro'n ng ganoong unreasonable negative attitude towards Vicinity and Cameron.

Kung may inggit siya sa dalawa, hindi na ako magtataka dahil sa reputation ng mga ito. Kahit sino ay manginginig kapag narinig ang pangalan nila. Lalo siguro kung tipikal ka lang na estudyante na hindi nag-e-excel sa acads. Just hearing their name would make you question your worth.

Pero 'di naman normal na estudyante si Ember. As far as I knew, she also stood on the same level as the two. Pwera na lang kung rumor lang ang narinig ko at isang baseless speculation tulad ng kumakalat ngayon sa feed ng mga tiga-DBNHS.

I was scribbling on my PC's keyboard nang pumasok si ate Michaela sa kwarto ko. As usual, she's on her short shorts and loose shirt. She stood beside me at pinagmasdan ang ginagawa ko.

"What's the latest?" tanong niya. I could hear a gum being chewed by her teeth. Mukhang preoccupied na naman siya kaya naghanap siya ng pagbabalingan ng atensyon.

"I just got verified the identities of a few fake accounts." Pinakita ko sa kaniya ang isang list na may mga pangalan. Ang ilan doon ay naka-cross ng violet na highlighter. "It might take a few hours pa bago ma-verify ang iba. Kung mamalasin, isang buong araw."

"That's still good to hear."

I nodded to what she said at tahimik na akong nagpatuloy sa ginagawa. It was already 12:00 AM, 3 hours away from the demon hour, pero gising pa kaming dalawa na parang mga security guard sa 7/11 o mga teenager na naghihintay ng multo sa gitna nang gabi. If we didn't need to do this, kanina pa sana kami nagpapahinga at nakahiga sa mga kama namin.

"About this verified accounts, sigurado ka na ba na kay Vicinity nga ang isa sa mga 'yon?"

I stopped on scribbling for a moment pero nagpatuloy rin ako kaagad. "Yes, the account that spread the rumor about the SMET student was definitely his." I looked at her. "I checked it a couple of times and I'm sure of it. May problema ba?"

Vicinity was the one behind the troll account who posted about a rumoured cheating on a SMET exam. Kung hindi ko pa ito nadiskubre noong nakaraang linggo, maniniwala ako sa pag-arte niya kanina sa cafeteria na wala siyang kamalay-malay sa nangyari.

"Wala naman." She sighed. "Hindi ko lang masabi kung kay Vicinity talaga ang account na 'yon. Parang hindi naman siya guilty kung siya talaga ang may gawa ng rumor. Based on his reaction when I presented it to him earlier, there's no trace of guilt or whatsoever on his face."

Mukhang naloko siya ni Vicinity. "You wouldn't see it dahil hindi naman talaga siya nakakaramdam ng guilt," I replied, looking back at my screen. "For him, he did a harmless thing that helped him get to his goal. Kung para man maiiwas sa kanila ang atensyon ng lahat o hindi, ang malinaw ay nagawa niya ang gusto niya, and he harmed no one along the way. Nothing's to be guilty about in his perspective."

"Pero hindi ba siya natatakot na mahuli, at least? He's putting a stain on someone's linen. Hindi basta-basta ang sinubukan niyang paratangan. If the SMET's find out who's the suspect behind the troll account, baka hindi lang ang pangil ng SMET's ang harapin niya kundi pati na rin expulsion."

I glued my eyes on the screen. May punto naman si ate Aela, pero still, na-miss niya ang ilang punto. "The constitution might do nothing about it dahil madalas, ini-ignore lang nila ang mga ganitong kinds ng scandal. Base rin sa traces na iniwan niya sa kaniyang account, walang makakahabol sa kaniya nang basta-basta. He has no reason to be scared, and he's confident about it." I stopped from scribbling. "Unless he knows that there's someone as knowledgeable as me."