Depression Plutus (Curse #4)

CHAPTER 34 Flirt

OTTILIE VIRSES POV 
 
 
Matapos naming mag-agahan, dinala kami ni Mr. Armstrong at Ms. Rutherford sa isang recreational room. We are being told that today's task is to analyze the ritual scene to gather more information about Lysandra's death. 
 
Napaka-angas nga, may isang skilled wizard na nagtatrabaho sa institution na 'to na kaya i-replicate ang isang buong crime scene for better investigation. Dahil sa skills niya, hindi na namin kailangan puntahan ang actual crime scene. Kaya heto kami, nag-aabang na matapos ang first group, nag-uumpukan sa labas at kan'ya kan'ya ng upo sa gilid ng hallway.
 
Then, out of nowhere, Angelica walked up to Plutus, smiling. She handed him a box of chocolates. "I thought you’d like these," she said sweetly, practically glowing as she stood there.
 
Plutus gave her one of his signature smirks, "Oh? And here I thought someone just made my day," he replied smoothly, reaching out to take the box.
 
I felt my jaw tighten and couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Bigla-bigla namang inilapit ni Jenna ang mukha niya sa'kin habang bumubulong.

"Grabe, ang aga naman atang lumandi ni Angelica." 
 
"Malandi lang talaga si Plutus," bulong ko pabalik kay Jenna. 
 
But deep down, I was fuming mad. After that hug last night, here he was, shamelessly flirting with someone else.

Seriously?
 
Then Dylan leaned in, looking longingly at the box of chocolates. "Wish I could get some of those," he whispered, making Jenna and me roll our eyes in sync.
 
Maya-maya lang ay bumukas na ang pintuan ay iniluwa no'n si Mr. Armstrong kasama ang group one. 
 
"Alright, Group 2, you’re up," he announced, gesturing for us to come inside.
 
Jenna, Dylan, and I stood up to follow Mr. Armstrong. Nang makita kong tumabi sa'kin si Plutus, sinamaan ko ito ng tingin saka nakipagpalit ng pwesto kay Dylan. 
 
Plutus raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" he asked, giving me a puzzled look.
 
I crossed my arms, looking pointedly ahead. "Paki mo ba?" 
 
Jenna stifled a giggle, glancing between us. "Mukhang wala sa mood ang ating Ottilie," she teased. 
 
Lumapit naman itong si Dylan kay Plutus na may nagtatakang tingin saka pasimpleng bumulong. "Good luck with that one, man."
 
Meanwhile, Plutus just rolled his eyes, clearly exasperated.

He smirked, though, shaking his head. "If this is about the chocolates—"
 
"It’s not about the chocolates," I said quickly, interrupting him. "Pwede bang magfocus na muna tayo sa task?" 
 
Plutus’s smirk grew as he gave me a knowing look. "Sure, sure, anything for you."
 
Jenna tried to hold back a laugh as we all filed into the room. As soon as our group stepped inside the room, it felt like I was walking into a haunted story. Ang sabi sa amin ni Mr. Armstrong, naganap ang ritual scene sa isang old mansion na pag mamay-ari ni Lysandra.
 
And I suspected this whole set-up was the perfect replicate of the day that the victim was found. The room was large but dim, with faint light slipping in from high, cracked windows. Stone walls and the ceiling were covered with strange faded symbols.
 
On a worn table to the side, jars held odd things, like feathers, crystals, and even bones. The whole room felt… alive, like it was watching us, holding its breath. Tunay nga na napaka-skilled ng wizard na gumawa nito. Kuhang-kuha pati ang eerie vibes ng lugar.
 
Sa gitnang bahagi ng lumang chamber, naman makikita ang isang malaking magic circle. Nang lapitan ko ito, doon ko lang ito mas napagmasdan ng maayos. The magic circle was made out of ash and chalk, but why is it so messy? Hindi maayos ang pagkakaguhit nito, doon pa lang kahina-hinala na, kaya wala na akong sinayang na oras at kinuhaan na ito ng litrato. 
 
"Okay, group two," Mr. Armstrong clapped his hands. "You have 30 minutes to roam around the chamber, don't worry about touching anything, our wizard will simply restore it. You may now start."
 
At doon na nga kami nagsimulang mag-ikot-ikot sa paligid. Hanggang ngayon hindi ko pa din tinatapunan ng tingin ang mayabang na prinsipe, bahala siya diyan, inis pa din ako sa kan'ya.
 
"Woah, idol ko na ang wizard na gumawa nito," namamanghang turan ni Jenna habang inililibot ang tingin sa paligid.
 
"Para tuloy tayong nasa actual scene," dagdag naman ni Dylan.
 
"Tara, umpisahan na natin. Jenna, ikaw na ang mag take down ng notes while we find clues," I instructed.
 
"Okay, lods," sagot naman ni Jenna at saka inilabas ang notebook nito. 
 
Tahimik kaming kumilos at saka pinag-aralan ng mabuti ang bawat makita namin. Pakiramdam ko nasa loob kami ng kwarto ng isang masamang mangkukulam, iyong napapanood ko sa human world. 
 
"Guys, take a look at this one," Dylan called us out as he crouched down near the magic circle. "These symbols… they look incomplete. Maybe she didn’t get to finish whatever she was trying to do."
 
Agad naman akong naglakad patungo sa pwesto ni Dylan at saka ito kinuhaan ng litrato. Oo nga, bakit hindi kompleto ang pagkakalagay nito? Isa sa vital points ang accurate na paglalagay ng mga symbols dahil isang pagkakamali lang, maaaring malagay sa alanganin ang buhay mo. 
 
"What's wrong with this Lysandra' witch? The candles—they're out of alignment. If she was performing something serious, even a little misalignment can mess everything up," Plutus said, inspecting the candle placements with annoyance visible on his face.
 
Hindi ko tuloy mapigilang bumulong habang kinukuhaan ng litrato ang mga kandila na napansin ni Plutus.  "Neat-freak alert."
 
Plutus shot me a side-eye,"It’s called having standards," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "You should try it sometime."
 
Pero hindi ko na ito pinatulan pa, manigas siya diyan. Meanwhile, Jenna was furiously scribbling in her notebook, muttering under her breath. "So, mismatched candles, incomplete symbols… it’s like she planned a big show but forgot the choreography?" 
 
Dylan chuckled. "Maybe she was in a rush. Ever tried prepping for a big ritual with a deadline?"
 
Jenna snickered, nudging him. "Maybe she was just lazy."
 
Napapa-iling na lang ako sa pagiging maloko ng dalawang ito. Nagpatuloy na lang ako sa pagkuha ng litrato, mas pinagtuunan ko ng pansin ang mga kandila na may mga nakaukit na sigils. Isa-isa ko itong kinuhaan ng litrato. Habang abala sa pagkuha, kusa na nanayo na naman ang mga balahibo ko, may kakaibang enerhiya akong nararamdaman sa paligid.
 
Nang matapos ako, nilapitan ko si Jenna na abala pa din sa pagsusulat. "Jenna may ipapasulat sana ako, pandagdag sa notes natin," turan ko sa kan'ya.
 
"Alright, ano iyon?" Nakangiting saad nito.
 
"There's still a remaining strong dark magic that fills the room lingering around, especially in the candles," I shared.
 
Jenna nodded while taking notes. Nang matapos ang oras namin sa loob, lalabas na sana kami ng kwarto ng may i-abot si Mr. Armstrong sa'min. Teka, ganito 'yong inabot ni Mr. Armstrong sa group 1, paglabas nila kanina ah.
 
"This is a copy of Lysandra's journal, it will help with your investigation," he simply said while we stepped outside the room. "Remember, tomorrow is the presentation. So, do your best." 
 
Nang makalabas kami, napagkasunduan namin na dumiretso na muna sa cafeteria at doon na lang hatiin ang task habang nananghalian. To be honest, nagsisimula na sumakit ang ulo sa dami ng isipin. Pala-isipan pa din samin ang cause of death ni Lysandra at bukas na ang presentation. 
 
Pagpasok namin sa cafeteria, may mangilan-ngilan ng mga employees ang kumakain. 10 a.m. pa lang naman, hindi pa oras ng lunch pero dahil madami kaming tatapusin, kumain na kami ng maaga. Nang makakuha kami ng foods, pumwesto kami sa bandang gilid, gawa sa glass wall ito kaya kitang-kita ang magandang view sa labas. 
 
"So, paano natin hahatiin ang task?" Tanong ni Jenna habang kumakain. 
 
Nagkatitigan kaming apat, pawang nag-iisip kung saan mag-uumpisa.

"My head is already aching," Dylan grumbled, massaging his temple.
 
"Actually, I have an idea," singit ko sa usapan nila. 
 
Nabaling naman sakin ang atensyon nilang tatlo, nag-aabang sa susunod na sasabihin ko. 
 
"You see, may tatlong clues ako na napansin sa case natin, magmula pa kahapon," pag-uumpisa ko. 
 
"Talaga?! Alam mo, malapit na talaga akong maniwala na kamag-anak mo si Sherlock," natatawang turan ni Jenna. 
 
"So, what is it?" Singit ni Dylan na napapa-iling na lang sa kakwelahan ni Jenna. 
 
Samantalang si Plutus, kapansin-pansin ang pagiging tahimik sa tabi ko. Hanggang ngayon hindi ko pa din ito pinapansin, kaya hindi ko matanong kung ano ang problema nito. Tahimik lang nito na nilalantakan ang pagkain niya habang nakikinig sa usapan.
 
"Okay, the first thing that we need to examine is the black particles that we found on Lysandra's mouth. Second, the journal, and last but not the least, the strange symbols on Lysandra's body and how does it work." 
 
Kusa na lang sila nanahimik matapos kong magsalita. Maya-maya pa ay bigla na lang nagpalakpakan ang dalawang magbestfriend habang may malaking ngiti sa mga labi nito. 
 
"Hulog ka talaga ng langit, Ottilie!" Kunwari na-iiyak na sabi ni Jenna. 
 
"You just narrowed down the biggest obstacle in this case, Ottilie," Dylan said, giving me a thumbs-up. "I already feel it, we're close to uncovering this case." 
 
"Haha, wala 'yon," napapakamot sa batok na turan ko. "So, paano natin hahatiin ang case?" Tanong ko sa kanila. 
 
"Alright, kami na ni Dylan ang bahala sa black particles," suggestion ni Jenna. "I heard may samples ang laboratory no'n. All we have to do is to examine it." 
 
"Kayo na ni Plutus sa journal and symbols," malokong ngisi ni Dylan na ikilaglag ng panga ko. "Go head to the library." 
 
"What?! No-" pagprotesta ko pero pinutol iyon ni Plutus. 
 
"Alright, leave it to us," Plutus muttered while shrugging his shoulders.
 
 

To be continued...