Wicked Wonders

CHAPTER 7 • The Restroom Incident

Thursday ng hapon nang nagpatawag ang SSG ng emergency meeting with all the STEM students. One of the SSG officers named Christoff lead them to the Mini-auditorium 1 ngunit nang makasalubong nila ang council secretary ay nalaman nilang it was occupied by the STEM teachers. Ciara, who turned out to be the secretary, said that the meeting was moved to the school pavilion.

"The amphitheater? Seriously?" kumento ng isa sa mga estudyante.

"We don't have a choice. All available places were unexpectedly occupied," paliwanag ni Ciara.

"Haven't any of you reserved it ahead of time?" isa pang estudyante ang nagtanong.

"We had. There must be some confusion or misunderstanding," Ciara explained. Her face was glowing with a tint of red.

Walang nagawa ang mga estudyante kundi tungohin ang amphitheater na nasa back part ng school. Concrete arching benches were present in concentric alignment. May mga Acacia at Eucalyptus trees na nakapalibot alternately around. Sa gitna ng paikot na mga bench ay may monumentong nakatayo sa isang stage. It was a tall vertical shaft made up of tapered square black marble and has a pyramidal tip. Numiningning ang mga lamat na design ng marble na monumento habang nasisinagan ito ng araw ng hapong iyon. There was a concrete elevation at the very foot of the shaft where the SSG president stood, partly shadowed by one of the acacia trees, nagmukha tuloy siyang estatwa ni Jose Rizal sa Luneta dahil may hawak rin itong notebook o libro. Lumapit si Ciara at Cristoff sa kanya at tila nagkakaroon ng kumosyon. Mayamaya ay nagsalita na ang SSG president

"Please, gather around," sabi niya habang ipinapaypay ang kamay. Ciara, the secretary, and Christoff, who turned out to be the vice-president, assisted him habang unti-unting dumarami ang mga estudyante.

The arching benches were under the shadows of the trees; the cool breeze was in a constant blow making the place cool and comfortable despite the scorch of the afternoon sun. Ang mga STEM ay pina-upo sa harapan, sa sumonod naman na bench ay mga GAS, then HUMMS and TVL were noisily scattered at the back.

Gonzalo sat beside Jason, and next to Jason was the girl he has met during the enrolment, Lilianne.

"Hi!" bati ni Jason kay Lilianne.

Gonzalo, finally noticing her, said, "Ui, hello, Yanne!"

"Hi," she replied to both of them.

"Anong section nga pala kayo?" tanong ni Gonzalo.

"A," she said and smiled. "How about the two of you?" She looked at Jason and then at Gonzalo.

"We're in B," sagot ni Gonzalo.

Na-awkward si Jason, dahil lagi nalang siyang nasasapawan ni Gonzalo.

"May I have your attention, please?" the president said in a modulated voice. Jason, Gonzalo and Eleanor turned to the direction of the president. Nang natahimik na ang lahat may tiningnan sa hawak na notebook ang president at muling nagsalita.

"Before anything else, I apologize for the inconvenience. There seemed to be a double reservation on the Auditorium Minor."

"Seriously? A double reservation?" pabulong sabi ng isang estudyanteng nasa likod nila Jason.

"Now, may I begin this by introducing myself and the rest of the members that make up the Senior High Supreme Student Government? Probably most of you have already known from our Permahanap initiation, I am Vincent Avelino, your SSG president for this academic year." After Vincent introduced himself, he gestured for the other students to walk in front. Isa-isa silang nagpakilala at sinabi ang kanilang mga posisyon. Matapos magsalita ang huling SSG officer  nagsalita ulit si Vincent, "Alright! The acquaintance party will be two weeks from now."