The Enigma of Erald

CHAPTER NINETEEN: Restore Factory Settings

ERALD

After my confrontation with Torry, I went straight to the QED clubroom. Kadalasa'y nakakasabay ko si Clyde kapag pumupunta rito. Just imagine how awkward the situation was when only the two of us were left inside. Kadalasa'y hindi kami nagpapansinan. We mind our own business, and that's cool for me.

Wala masyadong ganap sa campus kaya nitong nagdaang araw, nagsilbing tambayan ko lang ang headquarters namin. Dito na rin ako nagla-lunch para hindi ko na kailangang makisabay sa mga nagsisiksikan sa cafeteria.

Hopefully, walang client na magko-consult sa amin ng kanilang problema dahil wala ako sa mood na magbigay ng advice.

Saktong ipapasok ko na ang susi sa keyhole ng clubroom nang bigla akong mapahinto. I stared down at the doormat that I was stepping on. Weird. Laging may five centimeter na space sa pagitan ng mat at ng pinto. Ngayon, nakasagad na ang doormat sa pintuan. Kapag nagalaw iyan ng kahit kaunti lang, alam kong may napadaan sa headquarters namin. That's a simple trick that I employed as part of our club's security.

Idinikit ko ang aking tenga sa maliit na siwang sa pinto at narinig ang nanghihingalong tunog ng ceiling fan. Ang kuripot kasi ng school admin, hindi pa 'yon pinapalitan. Sa pagkakatanda ko, iniwan kong nakapatay ang fan kaya bakit naiwang nakabukas?

There's only one simple deduction in my mind: Someone's inside. Only three persons have access to this room. It couldn't be Clyde since he was still busy chit-chatting with the class president. It couldn't be me as well since I'm still outside. That only leaves one person: Charlotte.

After days of being missing-in-action, posible kayang bumalik na si Madam President? Maliban sa aming dalawa ni Clyde, siya lamang ang may hawak ng spare key.

Maingat kong ipinihit ang doorknob at dahan-dahang itinulak ito paloob. Kung nagbalik na nga si Charlotte, kailangan kong mag-ingat para sa mga prank niya. Baka mabiktima ulit ako. She may have disappeared for a few days, but her fondness of pranks might not have gone away.

When the door swung open, no stream from a watergun greeted me. No loud "good morning" pleasantries or bright smile. Our president's usual spot was still vacant. But there's one person who was already inside and his back was turned to me. He was reading a newspaper.

Initially, I thought he was a client. His body frame was familiar to me.

"Good morning," bati ko kahit walang "good" sa aking umaga. Lumingon sa direksyon ko ang bisita at binati ako ng isang malawak na ngiti.

"Good morning, Erald," Reign Imperial of the execom stood to greet me. "Sorry if I let myself in. Nakabukas kasi ang pinto kaya pumasok na ako."

It has been days since I last saw his face at the leadership seminar. He's from the executive committee, the right hand men of the student council, so he could literally walk in any clubroom. Sino ba naman ako para paalisin siya?

Ang unang akala ko'y isa lamang siyang random character na makikilala ko rito sa campus. But when he saw through my abduct-the-president trick, I realized that he might be someone whom I shouldn't underestimate. Someone who's on the same level as Clyde.

Teka, alam kong ni-lock ko ang pinto. O baka naman nakalimutan kong i-lock ito kanina dahil sa kakamadaling pumasok? Either way, ipinatong ko ang aking bag sa mesa at umupo sa katapat na puwesto ni Reign.

"Sorry, we are undermanned today," sabi ko sabay patong ng aking kanang binti sa kaliwa. "How can we help the executive committee?"

Iniabot ni Reign sa akin ang hawak niyang kapirasong papel na nakatupi. What was it? A love letter? "I'd like to apologize if it took a while for us to give the list that you asked for. Inuna muna kasi namin ang liquidation ng seminar expenses."