ELISE'S POV
Nagising nalang ako sa isang maliit na puting kwarto, pagkalingon ko sa kaliwa ko, nakatayo si Flare at Lia doon.
"Are you feeling okay?" lumapit si Lia sa akin at hinawakan ang kamay ko, napatingin naman ako sa sarili ko, at pinilit kong tumayo.
"What happened to me?" I massaged my temple and I'm trying to remember what happened to me before waking up in this bed.
"You blacked out." Lia and Flare shot a glance to my left side, kaya napalingon din ako at mas lalo akong nagulat dahil nakasandal si Carter sa may pader at nakatingin sa may bintana, "Carter!" sinigawan siya ni Flare pero nagkibit-balikat lang siya.
"Bakit ba kasi ako mag-sosorry e dapat nga magpasalamat siya dahil hindi lang yan ang aabutin niya kung si Mr. Jones ang—" hindi niya napatapos ang pagsasalita dahil tumama sa mukha niya yung unan na nasa may paanan ko, hinagis ni Flare 'yon.
This time, humarap na siya sa akin, pero lukot ang mukha niya. "Okay fine, I'm sorry? Can I leave now?" pero hindi niya na hinintay ang sagot nung dalawa at lumabas nalang sa loob nang kwarto.
"Inasikaso ka ni Miss Avela, she's our head doctor from the medical lab, umalis na agad siya dahil ayos ka lang naman daw, pagnaubos na ang IV bag pwede na tayong lumabas," sabi ni Flare. Napatitig ako sa laman ng IV bag at malapit na 'tong maubos, naalala ko ang nangyaring kahihiyan kanina at napabuntong hininga ako.
Carter is such a pain in the A. Literal na naglalakad na sakit ng ulo.
We had dinner and talked about the usual stuff, they tried to cheer me up when they have decided to hangout in our room for awhile and play with ciphers.
"Okay, let's do this! The last person who'll decode it right will have to take a shot," Flare grinned as she placed a bottle of tequila in the middle and a shotglass.
"Aren't we not allowed to drink past curfew?" I asked. But I'm just scared how alcohol will affect me since I haven't tried drinking at all.
"Well, just don't get caught." Lia winked. And we started to play the game.
Flare used her tablet to generate a cipher for all of us to figure out.
"J lopx xibu zpv eje mbtu tvnnfs"
Lahat naging competitive at nag isip, inisa-isa ko rin kung anong pwedeng ciphers ang gagamitin ko para mahulaan iyon, until almost after three minutes everyone scribbled through their scratch papers. I was taken aback with how fast their minds were until I figured it out as ROT1 cipher and also scribbled it but everyone shouted done until I caught up with them but apparently, I was last.
"Okay, on the count of three we lay down our papers for everyone to see. 3..2..1!" ani Flare at nang matapos ang countdown ay sabay-sabay namin nilatag ang mga sagot namin.
Answer: I know what you did last summer
Everyone got it right including me, but still since I finished last, I had to take the shot. I maintained a poker face while chugging it down to my throat and fighting the bitter taste of it.
We tried to play with more ciphers and codes and almost everyone got a fair share with the liquor but I think I'm already on the verge of passing out.
"Okay, we're done, hik!" Flare hiccuped and everyone giggled. "Shoo boys! Bago pa kayo maabutan ng curfew," pinaalis na ni Flare lahat at medyo tipsy na rin ang iba, nagpangalumbaba lang ako at pinipigilang bumagsak ang katawan ko habang tinitignan silang umalis.
"You're drunk," Fenrir chuckled and patted my head before he go. When Flare locked the door I scrambled to my bed and finally relaxed, this is my first time having alcohol in my system and I don't really know how to manage it.
BINABASA MO ANG
Project X (published via Sanctum Press)
Ciencia Ficción[TAG-LISH] "hiddens" are species who have an altered genome in their DNA and is considered a genetic failure that has evolved during conception and is considered higher than the average human in terms of intelligence and capabilities. Elise is an...
