Decay In Her Bones

EPILOGUE

The incident that happened in Caleruega had done a big damage to the reputation of the school. The story of a student's death during a school-initiated activity had reached national News as well as the attention of organizations who were concerned about the welfare of women. In the succeeding years, the event in which a fourth year Education student named Mylene Elvinda had died while currently in a Retreat for graduating students had irrevocably damaged the school's name together with its enrolment rate. The person responsible for this, a Journalism graduating student named Froilan 'Lance' Biñas, of legal age during the act of murder, was sentenced guilty and was sent to jail. His statement, "I was drunk ― I didn't mean to kill her," did nothing to dwindle his case.

Even after the adjudication of the convict, Mr. and Mrs. Elvinda still did not seem to attain justice. They felt defeated by the feeling of being helpless; the feeling of not being able to do anything. Perhaps it was an imminent reaction for parents who had just lost their sole daughter who had a bright future ahead of her. The most that they could do was to mourn for their daughter. Mylene's mother did not stop crying for over a year, especially when graduation day came.

Daniel, Franz, and Randell, who were found innocent over the murder case, still had to face the consequences of breaking their Retreat curfew and the rules coinciding with Caleruega's own set of rules by bringing and drinking alcoholic beverages in the early hours of their third day in the said Retreat house. Having no grounds to remove them from their programs, their Dean decided to exclude them from the graduation rites which would take place at the Philippine International Convention Center, March of the following year. According to her, "They will be allowed to graduate but they will not march. Their names won't be listed in the program but they will still receive their diplomas. I think that it is painful enough for them not to be part of such a ceremonial event which their parents had been rooting for four years of efforts and sacrifices."

Of the three, Franz was the only one who found this agreeable, considering what they had done.

Meanwhile, Bobby was the one most affected. He almost did not attend his last semester; he rejected any sorts of socialization. Aside from attending to his basic needs to survive, his did nothing else over the semestral break. He pushed people away, including his parents who never stopped with their unsuccessful attempts to reach out to him. When Bobby said that he wanted to stop, Susan took the initiative to enrol her son in secret. Bobby wasn't ready to face his ― their school yet, though. His e-mail exploded with messages from the media and a couple of reporters even went to their house for an interview, but he never responded to any of them. In school, he would have no choice but to say something about the incident, and this was what he was fearing. A week after the beginning of the second semester, Susan was finally able to talk him out of quitting. Bobby started attending his classes, but he did not speak to anyone. Gladly for him, the people at school avoided asking him questions with regard the Caleruega incident. Five months had passed monotonously but the stabbing pain in his heart had not subsided even the slightest. As a matter of fact, the memory of his late girlfriend was being refreshed each day. He saw her everywhere he went: at the canteen, library, gymnasium, classrooms, and even along corridors. Her classmates stopped talking to him, but even with a bowed head, he noticed their sympathy apparent in their expressions. Nobody was blaming Bobby, but the question of his absence during the occurrence remained a mystery to them. Bobby finally got his degree in March, although just like Daniel, Franz, and Randell, he did not walk up the PICC stage.

* * *

Bobby staggered against the thick volume of people that swarmed from all directions across the crowded plaza of San Pedro. He was unaware of the event that had convened such a number of people and considered himself unlucky for needing to go there in such an unlikely situation. His sole purpose there was to submit a write up at the town's publishing house as one of his terminal requirements for his internship.