Wild Flower

XI: Black Birds

CASTOR

"Gagamit ka ng kutsilyo o ng lason?"

"Maghintay ka nalang kasi, kuya. Besides, dapat hindi natin pinag-uusapan ang mangyayari mamaya. On duty parin tayo at baka mataranta ang mga customer." Hemlock quickly gave the customers their respective orders. Ganito ang aming scenario everyday, even before Hemlock came. Pero dahil kumakalat ang usap-usapan na may bago kaming staff. Mas maraming mga tao ang naging interesado sa Wild Flower.

Hindi parin mawala sa isip ko kung ano ang gagamitin niya mamayang gabi. Kung sniper, may kalaban na ako. As the professional sniper of Wild Flower, I have to live up to my name. Naagaw na kanila Wolf at Bella ang title na 'seducer' at 'poisoner' kaya hindi dapat mawala sa akin ang aking puwesto.

Bella: Poisoner/Blade user
Wolfsbane: Poisoner/Blade user
Castor: Sniper
Ivy: Poisoner
Hemlock: Versatile troop/Stealth troop

Kung pinagsama-sama kaming apat, si Hemlock ang kalalabasan. But I'm sure he has a weakness. He definitely has to have one. Poor eyesight like mine? Clumsiness? How about crowd control? Anything that will plague an assassin.

Habang naghihintay ng customer sa counter, I sat down to think about a possible weakness in his system. Hmm... let's see... extraordinary skill in botany, forensics, toxicology, blade using, lying, some skill in mechanism... gah! Wala akong maisip!

Haaay, nakaka-miss ang tunog ng pagputok ng baril na may silencer. Pati na rin ang pagdanak ng dugo na nakikita ko mula sa aking sniper scope... at ang pag-drive paalis sa crime scene. Kailan ba kami magkakaron ng assassination mission nang magkakasama? Excluding Hemlock, I'm sure he's fine on his own. I have faith in his abilities.

Nag-ayos nalang ako ng mga design ng donuts at mga cake. Ang aking pakinabang sa café... pastry design! Ang lahat ng cute na mga design sa cake ay ako ang gumawa! While Ivy is in charge of baking, Bella in coffee and Wolfsbane in tea! By the way, ako din pala ang janitor sa amin. My specialty is cleaning! And Hemlock is just a waiter. Wala pa kaming maisip na extra work para sa kanya.

"Castor, may natapon na juice dito sa table 4. Would you mind cleaning it?" Wolf's voice echoed from the back part of the café.

"Coming." I took my trusty mop as I walked towards table 4. Hemlock is busy with selfies as well as Wolfsbane.

"Sorry, kuya. Nadali kasi ng anak ko, eh." The woman who was sitting on it apologized, her child was nervously taking glances between me and his mom.

"It's alright, ma'am. No harm done." The table sparkled clean. Gaya nga ng sinasabi parati ni Wolfsbane, Perfect.

After cleaning, balik sa lungga. Back to the rabbit hole. Can everyday be this boring? Hindi naman sa nagrereklamo ako, pero kasi for the past eight years, I think? Parating service sa customers ang inatupag namin. Kung may exciting man na mangyayari, ito ay kung may magnanakaw or holdaper or may assassination kami. May isa pa pala, kapag magmu-multiplayer kami ni Wolfsbane sa kuwarto niya at maglalaro ng video games. Aside from those, wala nang ibang masayang gawin. If you think that getting out because of Bella and Ivy's Gala Plans is fun, think twice. Parang silang dalawa nga lang ang nag-eenjoy habang kaming mga lalaki ang bumubuhat ng gamit nila. Hemlock, on the other hand, is not a thrill seeker. He would prefer to stay inside Wolfsbane's room doing nothing but type in his laptop or develop poisons or equipment. He's the quiet type who would prefer ordering pawns to do his bidding.

But one time, Wolf told me that masarap na kausap naman daw si Hemlock, just wait for the perfect moment to ask a question and try hard to keep the conversation going. Pero nag-aalala lang ako kung paano simulan ang isang convo kay Hemlock. Nakakatakot pa naman siya kapag galit and he never runs out of tricks up his sleeve, literally.