Candle of Placid Concussion

Kabanata 49

INNOCUOUS DEFENSE

Kinapa ko ang aking bag at kinuha ang phone ko roon. Rinig ko pa rin ang pagsasalita ng emcee sa stage habang abala naman sa paghahanap ng mauupuan ang iba. May kaunting background music naman ang pinatunog sa speaker. Tumungo ako sa aking phone at binuksan ito. Nakita kong may mensahe na lumabas roon.

SABREEN:

Nasa XU ka?

Nagbuntong hininga ako. This was sent one hour ago. Nagtipa ako ng reply.

QUENDRIN:

Yes. Where are you? Pupunta ka ba rito?

Agad naman siyang nagreply.

SABREEN:

Sorry, I can't. Emergency matters.

Napalumbaba ako sa sagot niya. May problema kaya siya? She seems so different now. I'm not blind to think she has not changed a bit. Sabreen is a great actress. Kung may problema siya, sinasarili niya lang talaga kahit anong pilit mong tanong sakaniya.

Nagtipa ako.

QUENDRIN:

Pupunta ako riyan mamaya pag nagka vacant ako.

Pupuntahan ko siya mamaya. This isn't good. Lalo na at wala ang parents niya sa bahay nila. Sila lang ng mga kasambahay niya. Knowing Sabreen, she's good in keeping her secrets hidden because she is too obnoxious about herself, kahit wala naman talaga dapat ipag alala. Sometimes, I find her scary for the reason that she does not even open up her intricacies to me and I'd always end up feeling so scarred and dissapointed more than what I had expected.

SABREEN:

Okay. Text you later.

Itinago ko nalang ang aking phone at itinuon ang atensyon sa program. Sumulyap ako sa oras. Sana maaga itong matapos. Nakahilera na sa gitna ang stage ang representatives ng unang event sa fair. The Experimentations. Pinagmasdan ko sila. Maya maya pa'y nagsimula na ang kanilang debate.

Emcee: How could we know that this project is useful, eco-friendly and substantial just as how you presented it? Are we going to based its productive superfluity on the external appearance?

Jean: When you try to perceive on the external appearance, you would have the conventional idea that this organism might have a genetical connection with the earthworms. These organisms are called Oligochaeta, a forestliving organism in our agroecosystem. They are usually found in temperate regions of the world including Asia.

Starting with my experiments and laboratory tests, non-standardized studies on the effects of pesticides on the sub-individual level, I have gathered the results of standard laboratory tests performed in adherence to fhe guidelines of OECD and ISO, as well as those of the semi-field and field tests. These saprophagous organisms influences soil structure and organic matter dynamics via microbal communites which makes it harmlessly significant for the environment compared to the ordinary pesticides that we usually use at homes or outdoors with various chemicals as a harmful substance.

Napatitig ako sa nagsalita. Atsaka ko lang napagtanto kung sino iyon. It's Jean Geurgio. Kaya pala pamilyar ang mukha niya. Oh knowing her, her mind is scientific. I wouldn't be surprised pag nakuha sa regional ang gawa niya. Nagpalakpakan ang crowd. Ang ibang kabatchmates naman namin ay naghihiyawan kay Jean. Kanya-kanyang pambato ang audience. Nakita ko naman ang mga jury sa gitna ng stage, sa likurang bahagi. Bumaling ako sa ginagawa nila. I'm sure this will be hard for them.