A/N: Let's go back to Vicinity's point-of-view for this chapter, shall we?
By the way, according to the story's timeline, we're presently on the final day of the School Fest 2024. The Battle of the Brains finally begins!
Ω
VICINITY
WHEN TIMES ARE ROUGH, I usually go to the fields near my house to have fresh air and to take pictures of birds. It's how I connect with nature and find peace within myself. Minsan naman, I call my parents thru the phone at kinakamusta ang lagay nila abroad. Hindi ko iyon madalas nagagawa dahil busy ako sa pag-aaral kaya sa mga ganoong oras lang ako nakakabawi sa pag-catch up sa kanila.
Usually, I do everything I can just to divert my attention and get away from the stressors that I face, even for just a moment. Minsan nga, naglalaro pa ako ng chess kahit AI lang ang kalaban ko.
However, iba ang pagkakataon na ito. My usual coping mechanisms were not enough.
It was early in the morning, around 5:30. Mabilis kong isinukbit ang bag sa balikat ko pagbaba sa sala, at lumabas ng bahay. Nakaabang na sa labas ang tricycle driver na pinakisuyuan ko kagabi para ihatid ako sa campus ngayong umaga. When our eyes met, I tried to give him a smile dahil na rin sa pumayag siyang sunduin ako kahit sumisilip pa lang ang araw.
We left the lonely street as soon as the engine started, at tanging pop music lang mula sa radyo ng motor ang narinig ko sa daan palabas ng subdivision.
If you're looking for Cameron, hindi ako sumabay sa kaniya papasok ngayong araw. I told him last night that I needed to be on campus this early in the morning kaya hindi ako makakasabay, at ilaan na lang kako niya ang oras niya para mas makapagpahinga before our competition, kaysa samahan niya akong pumasok nang ganito kaaga (dahil he insisted to do so). Nabanggit din naman niya na may kailangan siyang gawin before the competition takes place kaya tingin ko'y may iba pa siyang kailangang paglaanan ng oras bukod sa akin.
Also, today's the day of The Battle of the Brains, the most-awaited event in the school fair, and our team, with Rainier and Michaela, was supposed to meet an hour before the competition. 2:00 PM ang umpisa ng event according sa program. May ilang oras pa ako to do what I needed to do that day.
Well, my agenda for this morning had nothing to do with the competition, but with the latest issue that I was part of. I posted a malicious post a week ago to save Cameron and I from public ridicule, yet now, it had backfired on me and might serve its opposite purpose. I intended to not be the talk-of-the-town in the campus dahil sa past issues namin pero iyon na ang pwedeng mangyari sa mga susunod na oras.
No one knew when exactly my crime would be exposed— apart from the staffers of The Nightwalkers, obviously— and that's an enough reason for me to take action on my own and to not wait for the heavens to open up then send me help.
If God wouldn't grant me salvation, may He lend me enough time for me to execute my plan, at least. My plan might not work if the sand in the hourglass isn't enough. Oras lang ang nakikita kong kalaban dito at wala nang iba pa, because when time has already caught up with me, the game is already over. My boat will sink.
I had no other way out but my plan to shut down my exposé before it comes out. Kung hindi ko 'yon magagawa before the day ends, baka ito na ang maging huling araw ko sa DBNHS. Ah, I could already see the letter of expulsion being sent to my student email. I couldn't let that happen!
To keep my exposé from being published, kailangan kong harapin ang The Nightwalkers. Kung hindi ko sila madadaan sa santong paspasan, I no longer knew what I could legally do to stop them from exposing my scheme. Sana lang ay gumana sa kanila ang pakiusapan.
BINABASA MO ANG
Carnage of Vicinity (At a Not-So-Ordinary Senior High)
Teen FictionWhoever said that a peaceful high school life would be your best memory was wrong. It would be more exciting if you would add some spice here and there, wouldn't it be? In Dulong Barangay National High School, everyone has their own recipes to cook...
