The Legendary Durga

CHAPTER 19

JINGU (AGNEZKA PATRIARCA) POV

"Hmmm? What's going on? Ang tahimik niyo naman atang lahat?" Biglang sulpot ni Tao na may dala-dalang tray ng pagkain.

Nilibot ni Tao ang tingin niya, hindi nagtagal dumapo ang mata niya sa apat na duguang babae sa likod ko. I just continued to sip my strawberry milk, waiting for his reaction. Napangiti ako nang manlaki ang mata niya, nagmamadali na nilapag ang hawak na tray sa table sabay nilapitan ang mga babae na hanggang ngayon humahagulgol.

"Hmpf." Well, seems like the party is over. What else can I do? Nangyari na, nakita na ng mga bugok ang ginawa ko.

I don't care anymore. Humikab nalang ako at bumalik sa pwesto ko kanina at tinuloy ang naudlot kong paglamon na parang walang nangyari. Jun did the same, he also ate as if nothing happened earlier. But the new guys on our table, still looking at me with scrutinizing gaze. I looked at them and then smiled sweetly.

"Anong nangyari sa inyo? Ok lang ba kayo? May nam bu-bully ba sa inyo?" Nag-aalalang tanong ni Tao habang dinadaluhan ang apat ng babae. Kinuha niya pa 'yung panyo niya para punasan ang bibig ni Dictionary girl dahil putok ang labi nito sa ilang samapal na natamo niya.

Ain't she a lucky girl? Haha!

"Somebody explain to me what happened!" Saad ni Tao habang tumitingin sa paligid.

Obvious naman kasi na alam ng lahat ang nangyari, after all lahat ng tao nakatingin at nakaharap sa apat na babae. But no one answered, all of them just looked at my direction.

"Why don't you give Tao a brief summary of the story Regis?" Saad ni Kang Hoo habang nakangisi sa direksyon ko.

Tumango naman si Regis. "Tao, inatake nila si Jingu kanina." Pinaliwanagan ni Regis si Tao habang nakangiti sa'kin, na akala mo natingin sa masarap sa turkey, personally I don't like turkey. "Tapos gumanti si Jingu." Dagdag pa nito at sumalumbaba.

Saglit na natahimik si Tao, sabay lumingon kay Regis, ang mukha hindi makapaniwala. "Come again?" Paulit niya sa kaibigan.

"Guman--."

"No the thing before that."

"Inatake nila si Jingu?"

Maya-maya umalingawngaw ang tunog ng isa pang malakas na sampal sa buong cafeteria. Nagulat ako nang isa-isang sinampal ni Tao ang mga babae. Let me tell you, it was one heck of a slap. I was so shocked my mouth would open and close, even Jun was shocked. I never expected him to suddenly become violent, especially becuase of a stupid reason.

This guy's really weird.

"Who attacked her?!" Nanlilisik na tanong ni Tao.

"That girl with blonde hair, 2nd to the right." Sagot ni Regis.

"How dare the likes of you..." Sinampal niya ulit 'yung babae. "Sino nagbigay sa'yo ng karapatan na gawin 'yon sa Cutie namin?!"

"Blueghh!" Bigla akong nabulunan. Who the f*ck is their Cutie? Sira talaga ang kukote ng isang 'to. Ampota, nabigla ako d'on, sakit ng ilong ko. The hell is wrong with this guy's brain?

"Don't you f*cking dare to show your ugly faces in this university! If I ever see your f*cking ugly mugs or even your f*cking shadows, I'll skin you alive!"

Daming f*cking doon ah.

Sinipa niya pa 'yung babae na tumulak sa'kin bago tuluyang tumayo sabay padabog na naupo sa pwesto niya, ang mukha niya gusot pa sa damit na hindi naplantsa. Truth to be told I felt a tinge of pity to the girl who pushed me, ilang sampal din ang natamo niya. And those ain't normal slap, it all came from strong people.

Then again, 'yan ang napapala niya.

"Alcohol nga diyan! Punyetang babae na 'yon! Dinudumihan niya ang school na 'to." Nang gagalaiti na sabi ni Tao. This angry look doesn't really suit his cute face. May nag-abot sa kanya ng alcohol. "Siguraduhin niyo na malilintikan ang p*ta na 'yon!" Utos niya pa sabay pinaliguan ng alcohol ang kamay na akala mo nakahawak siya ng tae.

I didn't expect this side of him to appear. Kung ibang tao lang ako baka natatakot na'ko ngayon.

Oo nga pala may naalala ako.

Tinignan ko ng masama si Kang Hoo, napansin niya ata na nakatingin ako kaya tumingin din siya sa'kin. "I didn't ask for your help." Maangas na bulas ko sa kanya. Tutal nakita narin naman na nila ang kaya kong gawin, I don't need to hold myself back.

Isa pa matagal ko nang naipakita kay Kang Hoo kung ano ang kaya ko. By now, they should be aware that I'm not some pushover they could mess with and I'm definitely not going to let him make me owe him. I hate this man's guts.

"Who said I helped you? Don't get your hopes up woman, I didn't help you. Maingay kasi sila kaya pinatahimik ko, that's it. Isa pa, sinigawan niya ako, isang malaking kasalanan 'yon. Don't even think for a second that I'll bother myself to help an ugly woman like you."

"Ugly?!" Tangina nitong gagong 'to! How dare he call me ugly? ME?! But I calmed down and smirked. "Good! I'm just making sure. I don't want you to come to me saying I owe you something I didn't ask for and something that was never needed." Banat ko naman. "Next time, don't meddle with my affairs, you f@ggot."

"Who the hell did you call a f@ggot!? You b!tch!"

"What did you just..." This guy is asking for death. "You're on b@stard! Halika papahalik ko sa'yo kamao ko, tignan natin kung uubra 'yang kabaklaan mo sa'kin."

Pareho kaming padabog na tumayo sa kinauupuan ang parehong mata namin nanlilisik na nakatingin sa isa't-isa.

"Hep! Hep! Calm down guys!" Pagpapakalma sa'min ni Regis na mukhang natatawa sa sitwasyon. "Tama na ang sagutan, baka mamaya mawasak ang cafeteria 'pag nag-away kayo dito." Dagdag pa nito, sabay kumindat sa'kin.

"Jingu." Tawag ni Jun sa'kin, nakita ko sa mata niya na gusto narin niya akong patigilin. "Kain na." Aya niya sa'kin.

I looked back at Kang Hoo then gave him a glare. "Hmpf! F@ggot." Bulong ko nalang sabay naupo at sinimulan nang kumain.

I showed a lot of things, I can't mess up more than this. I sighed as I continue eating. The atmosphere went back to normal, everybody was eating and chatting. However I noticed that there's one person who isn't eating, Yamazaki Takeo. Walang pagkain sa harap niya at tahimik lang siya. Hindi ba siya nagugutom? Panonoorin lang ba niya kami kumain sa harap niya? Hindi ko kakayanin 'yon.

Now that I think back, hindi tinatanong ni Tao kung anong gusto ni Takeo kainin? What? Magkaaway ba sila? Nakakatampuhan? Nagkatalo sa babae? Bro before hoes! Or is he being bullied by his own friends? Medyo naawa naman ako, kasi ang tahimik niya. Parang siya 'yung tipo na tatahimik lang kahit aping-api na.

Nilapit ko sa bibig ni Takeo ang kutsara ko na may pagkain, sinusubo sa kanya. "Ahhh!" Giya ko kay Takeo, pero tinignan niya lang ako na para akong baliw. "Kainin mo!" Pero hindi parin siya nagrespond at umiwas pa ng tingin. Nainis ako kaya kinuha ko ang ulo niya at hinarap sa'kin, sabay sapilitan kong sinaksak ang kutsara ko sa bibig niya. "I said eat! Where's your food?! Tao, ba't ba hindi mo binilihan ng pagkain si Takeo! Hindi ka ba naawa? Hindi porket magkaaway kayo kakawawain mo na siya!" Tanong ko kay Tao na busy kumain sa kiddie meal niya.

"Hmmm? Well, hindi ko naman na kailangan kasi may dala namang lunch si Take-chi." Rason ni Tao habang may laman ang bibig. "He always brings lunch box with him." Dagdag pa nito sabay tinuloy ang pagkain na parang bata.

Kanina lang para siyang psychotic killer maka-asta tapos ngayon back to pa-cute effect nanaman siya na parang walang nangyari. Well, I could say the same thing to myself.

"Bakit hindi mo pa nilalabas ang lunch mo Take-chi?" Tanong ni Tao kay Takeo na yumuko lang at hindi sumagot.

"Nahihiya siya Tao." Saad ni Kang Hoo na may nang-aasar na ngisi sa mukha. Humagikgik naman na parang biik si Regis.

Nakita ko ang tenga ni Takeo na pulang-pula, he's blushing. Nahihiya nga, pero anong ikakahiya niya? Matagal na pala siyang nagdadala ng lunch box ngayon pa siya mahihiya. And not like bringing one is that embarrassing.

"'Wag kang mahiya sa amin, lunch box lang pala." Anyaya ni Jun na may ngiti sa mukha.

Nanginig ako nang makita ang ngiti ni Jun, gosh! That was fakest smile that I have ever seen. Fake pa kay Barbie doll or kay Ken doll. It was actually disgustingly scary. Bakit ba pinipilit ng lalaking 'to maging friendly sa kanila? Hindi bagay sa kanya ang pagiging pala ngiti, nakakatakot. It feels like something ominous is approaching whenever I see his fakey-smile.

May kinalikot sa bag si Takeo, then naglabas siya ng lunch box na nakabalot sa tela. It looks ordinary to me, what is he being embarrassed about? But hey, don't judge a book by its cover. Pagbukas niya ng lunch box, nabulunan agad si Jun sa kinakain niya at ako naman nanlaki ang mga mata.

It's not your ordinary lunch box. You know that popular bento-boxes in Japan, its one of those. Ang daming heart design, I feel like I'm looking at a lunch-box from anime. There were those octopus hotdogs and other weird designs.

Does he really have the heart to eat that?

"I-its cute dude, anong kinakahiya mo diyan." I tried to cheer him up as I contain my laugh. At his age how could he stomach bringing that kind of food? "Haha! Girlfriend mo ba ang gumawa niyan? Ang sweet ha!"

"M-mahilig akong magluto." Nahihiyang saad ni Takeo.

"Ah! So ikaw ang gumaw---!" He made it!? This killing machine made that, delicate and cute arrangement? Madonna Mia! This is scarier than a bed time horror story. How can this killing machine make something as cute as this? How can he even cook in the first place? And here I am, I can't even fry eggs!

Is he a God!?

"Wow, seriously?" Namamanghang tanong ko.

"Yes." Mahinang sagot ni Takeo sabay tumango, nahihiya parin.

"That's awesome, I don't even know how to cook, much less make food look like that. You're good!" Puno ng sinseridad na puri ko.

"Gusto mo rin ba na gawan kita ng ganyang lunch, Jingu?" Tanong ni Jun sa'kin. He was looking at me with an amused face. This guys is definitely mocking me. "Kung sinabi mo lang sa'kin na mahilig ka sa ganyan edi sana ginawan na kita ng ganyan ka-cute na lunch."

"Shut up, Jun, you don't want me stab your eyes with this fork." Banta ko, ang kamay nakahanda na. Who would want to eat that ridiculous looking lunch box in college? I'm not crazy enough to do sh!t like that. I just think that its awesome. That doesn't mean that I want it. Punyetang Jun na'to, kung ano-ano biglang sina-suggest. "Ok na sa'kin ang pagkain dito sa cafeteria."

"'Wag ka nang mahiya Jingu." Ngiti pa ni Jun. "I'll make sure to put one of those octopus hotdogs for you, with heart shaped cookies for dessert."

"I said I don't f*cking need it!" Sigaw ko sabay padabog na tinuloy ang pagkain. "Shut up before I  lose my sh!t."

Nang-aasar nanaman 'tong mokong na'to. Talagang pinili niya pang inisin ako sa harap ng mga kupal na kasama namin sa table. Ngayon pinagtatawanan na tuloy nila ako. If it wasn't for my circumstances, I wouldn't double think about taking a limb or two from these people.

In the middle of eating, Tao started doing something funny. We all laughed at his stupidity, stuffing his face with weird stuff. Telling stupid tales that we didn't even ask. I didn't notice when, but everybody on our table were laughing.

Lumipas ang oras, pakiramdam ko talagang mag tro-tropa kami. We were joking around, making fun of each other and the other people around us. I thought hinding-hindi ko makakasundo ang mga bugok na'to. Hindi naman pala sila ganoon kahirap pakisamahan.

I've always thought that Shark was mute, I never heard his voice before. Not even until now, but it seems like that's not it. Tao just told me that Shark is just too lazy to talk, that's why he don't bother himself with talking. But Tao said that when Shark is drunk, he'll be the one making a racket about every little thing and fight anybody he sees.

Takeo on another hand was as calm as a river and serene as the winds. He was quiet most of the time and only smiles and laugh a little. He have this air around him that makes people want to respect him, not because they fear him, but because he is a respectable person.

Regis was as noisy as Tao, he also makes jokes a lot, but unlike Tao, his jokes are all about pen!s, @ss, tits and anything sexual. In short, the guy is a pervert. He likes older women and there would be few older woman who walks around and kept giving him small kisses.

Tao was the kid and clown of the group. He keeps talking and laughing. His existence itself is noisy and annoying, but being with him makes me laugh, but I think he's the kind of person that can't stop laughing even in the most inappropriate situtaion.

Kang Hoo, he's not that much of a prick, medyo antipatiko lang. Pero pala tawa din at mahilig magbiro, pa cool kung umarte, hindi naman bagay. At mahilig siyang utus-utusan ang mga nasa paligid niya, mostly si Tao or kapag tinatamad si Tao magtatawag siya ng iba.

The creepiest part of all this is Jun, he is literally laughing his heart out. Like he really is having fun being with them, he would play with Tao's stupid game and actually laugh with everybody.

I'm still thinking, kung ano ba ang pumasok sa isip ng lalaking 'to, kung bakit siya biglang naging friendly. Especially sa mga bugok na'to, he looked more reluctant than me to associate with them. But, I can tell, just how fake his laugh and smile is. It's so bright, maka laglag panty ang ngiti niya, dami ngang babae ang napapangiti at napapabuntong hininga kapag ngumingiti siya.

With the six of them laughing and talking together, it's like a harem for me. Unfortunately, no one knows that I'm with a bunch of cold-blooded motherf*ckers.

If Jun's smile wasn't fake, for sure mapapangiti din ako.

But then when I look at him surrounded with other people, with him smiling and talking merrily with them. I thought, he doesn't look that much of a robot now. This ain't bad. Although fake ang ngiti niya, its not an everyday occurrence na makita kong banat ang pisngi niya, might as well watch it until the end.

And then I thought, Jun is like an Artificial Intelligent. He's a fearsome technology that can comprehend and use human emotions to his advantage, he will use it if necessary and if its not, then he will stick to his robotic self. Its somehow scary, what if the time will come when I can no longer distinguish the real emotions from fake? And its much more terrifying to know if all the emotions he's shown me the whole time were fake, and then I will hear him say, 'Its my job'.

"I might kill him then." I whispered to myself.  

"Did you say something." Nagtatakang tanong ni Jun.

"No, nothing."

Right after lunch time magkakasama kaming naglalakad pabalik sa room, tuloy parin ang pagpapatawa ni Tao at mga kalokohan ni Regis. Although most of Regis' joke were pathetic that no one laugh's and we only do when he starts grumbling.

Nang nasa tapat na kami ng room, biglang nagyaya si Kang Hoo na 'wag nang pumasok sa susunod na klase kasi tinatamad siya. Sabi naman ni Tao na magandang ideya 'yon para ma-celebrate namin ang level-up ng relasyon namin sa grupo nila.

I was expecting Jun to say no, oddly though, he said why not with a smiling face. So I couldn't do anything but follow and say yes too. Its not like I have any enthusiasm in going to school in the first place. Although medyo naawa na'ko sa after lunch professor ko, kasi kahit isang beses hindi pa'ko nakakapasok sa klase niya. Ewan ko ba, lagi ako biglang dinadapuan ng katamaran kapag klase na niya.

Dinala nila kami sa isang abandunadong building. Tao said that the building used to be a dorm, but it got burned down. Since no one was coming in this place, dito na daw sila natambay kapag walang klase or tinatamad. Nasa likod lang ng university ang building, so we're really not that far away.

Tinignan ko ang mga naka pinta sa ding-ding, graffiti, very artistic and rebellious ng lugar. It seemed carefree and cozy. Pagpasok sa loob, maganda at maayos, maraming mga dekorasyon at kagamitan. Taliwas sa inaakala ko, I was hoping for a messy place with one single light that flickers non-stop.

"Welcome to our pad! Feel honored, bilang lang sa dalawang kamay ko ang nakakapasok dito maliban sa aming lima." Pagmamalaki ni Kang Hoo habang nakangisi. "We don't let anyone inside this place that easily."

"Right, the Chairman even comes here to visit us sometimes to play some poker!" Singit naman ni Regis. "Oh how I would love for her to visit my bedroom instead."

"Its cool." Blankong puro ko, since its true na maganda nga ang lugar. "Kaso lang masyadong umaandar ang kayabangan niyo, kaya medyo pumapanget ang lugar. This place would've been awesome if you ain't here." Taas kilay ko kay Kang Hoo.

"Aba't ---." Sisigawan na sana ako ni Kang Hoo pero pinigilan ko siya.

"Why don't you go and kill yourself? Do me a favor, go and hang yourself in some tree outside, make sure to tie your neck with thick rope. Then we can all watch as you die, f@ggot!"

Naghagikgikan si Tao, Takeo at Regis. Namumula naman sa inis si Kang Hoo, kaya nginisian ko lang siya. Hindi siguro sila sanay na may nakakatalo sa pang-aasar kay Kang Hoo. Hindi ko na sila pinansin, naglakad nalang ako papunta sa malaking sofa para maupo, sumunod naman sila.

Hinablot ko 'yung pockey na binuksan ni Tao, kakain na sana ako nang mabitawan ko ang box na hawak dahil sa binatawang kataga ni Jun, na lubhang hindi ko inaasahan.

"So bakit kayo nasa Battle Royale kagabi?" Nakangiting tanong ni Jun.

Natahimik kaming lahat, ilang pares ng mata ang nakatutok kay Jun. Nakanganga pa nga ako dahil sa gulat, nakalimutan ko din atang huminga saglit.

Tinitigan ko si Jun. Bakit? Bakit bigla niyang sinabi 'yon? He just blew up our cover! I knew something was wrong when he started being friendly with them. But not this! This is not what I thought it would be, anong pumasok sa isip ng baliw na'to at binulgar niya agad kami?

Then Jun's smiling face slowly faded, his face returned to the normal blankness.

"Oh! AI mode is back." Bulong ko nalang.

©IF02