I yawned as I silently walk towards the Celestial Kingdom; it was already 10 o’clock in the morning, and knowing how the Zodiacs system works, they wouldn’t waste their time looking for me. As soon as I got to my room, I quickly took a shower and dressed.
And before going out, I fed Karupin first.
And when I entered the campus, I immediately hid my face with a hoodie so Hallie wouldn’t see me. She was with Clover and Zach, which were busy attending to the students at the front desk.
Hindi na rin ako nag-attendance pa at umaiwas na lamang sa grupo nila. Tiyak akong isusumbong nila ako kay Logan oras na makita nila ako lalo na’t hindi ako umuwi kagabi. But the good thing is they didn’t know I spent my whole night in the library, simply searching for each department’s class records.
“Thank you for purchasing a ticket and please enjoy the show.” I just bought a ticket for the theater play which is beauty and the beast. As I roamed my eyes for a seat, I can’t help but to smirk.
I’ve already done my research about this club, and all I needed to do is here their voices to confirm my hunches and proceed to my plan.
Nang makaupo ako ay agad namatay ang mga ilaw at kasabay nito ang pag-labas ng isang karakter na tiyak akong si Belle, umaawit siya at sinabayan siya ng ibang mga cast. Bahagya naman akong natawa nang sumingit na ang mayabang na karakter ni Gaston.
Saglit silang umawit hanggang sa napunta sa batuhan ng mga linya at dahil pamilyar sa akin ang boses ni Gaston at Belle, nasisigurado ko na sila ‘yong mga player ng DANIMA. Nang matapos ang entrada nina Gaston at Belle ay siyang pag-papakilala sa beast, ang mga mata nito ay gulat na gulat habang nakatingin sa akin na kinailangan pa siyang sikuhin ng kasama niya sa entablado.
Masyadong halata.
After the play, I went backstage and looked for the one who portrayed Belle. She was smiling at me, and her eyes were twinkling, “Can I get your autograph here?” I asked and showed the ticket with the link of DANIMA on it.
And before the woman could actually reach the ticket, the one who portrayed the beast stole and tore it.
“Noah, what the hell?” The woman exclaimed.
I was about to speak when suddenly someone wrapped his arms around my shoulder and judging by the nauseating smell of his perfume. It must be that guy.
“What you doin’, Scarlett na naughty?” Austin asked. I curiously looked at the bouquet of red roses he was holding, and he then handed it to the girl, “Red roses for my Belle,” he said.
“Really, Austin? She’s your dish of the day?”
“Hey, that’s rude, Scarlett. Anikka is just a friend,” he said and winked at the girl. I rolled my eyes at him while the guy named Noah handed Anikka another ticket, and they looked at each other intently before giving me the signed ticket.
The two actors were about to leave, but I stop them when I said, “Hey, my ticket earlier has a code—”
“The autograph is much better on a clean sheet of paper,” Noah interrupted, but I was determined enough to get information about this game.
On the other, Anikka eyed Noah and pulled Austin out of the backstage with her.
“Shaina Dela Cruz.” As I uttered Snipey’s real name, the look on his face changed. He was baffled at first but immediately got what I mean.
The people in backstage looked at us like we are some piece of art to gaze upon, “Let’s talk, but not here.” He pulled me into a dressing room, and he checked first if people are inside before looking at me with disbelief.
“You are Amethyst.” It was a statement, a smile slowly curved in my lips, “You are the new player that caught Snipey’s attention,”
“What is DANIMA? Bakit sobrang halaga ng points—”
He heaved a sigh and slammed his body in a chair, “Travis, Anikka, and I have been playing this game for half a year. And since then, we’ve been analyzing and researching the depths of this game.”
Six months? Kung gano’n marami na dapat ang information nilang nakuha sa laro. Unless this game is extremely secured like the Ophiuchus, but it doesn’t make sense, no one is on par with Darren when it comes to technology in this school.
“DANIMA actually originated in Phantom Academy. It is either made by a student or a professor and leads us to be suspicious to the most knowledgeable person when it comes to programming and technology— Ian Darren Zircon.”
I wryly smiled at him, “Then you’re wrong. Darren and I just both discovered this game recently,”
“You’re right. Nang inaral namin ang bawat galaw ni Darren, walang kahit anong anomaly ang makikita. As if he wasn’t even aware of the game, which leads us to another conclusion. The moment we stopped thinking outside the box, we focused on the name of the game itself— DANIMA, which was derived from the word De Anima.”
His eyes say it all. I was their next lead in relation to the game, specifically that among the Zodiacs, I am the only psychology student. And De Anima is one of the books written by Aristotle.
“But I just got to know this stupid game.” I grumpily looked at him, making him twist his lips.
“I know,” he mumbled, “I don’t have the researches with me. But I will do something, so I can provide you a copy from Travis.”
Ngumiti ako sa kanya at binigyan siya ng isang mabilis na halik sa kanyang pisnge bilang pasasalamat ko, “Alam kong walang libre sa mundo. Pero salamat sa mga impormasyon mo. Bye-bye,” ngunit bago ko pa siya tuluyan na matalikuran ay agad niya akong pinigilan.
“It was Phantasia, the holy grail of DANIMA.” I was left dumbfounded by his words. Noah’s hand was gripping tightly in my wrist when someone grabbed his hand and removed it from mine.
“You’ve hurt her. You know what this means, right?” Austin’s words were harsh, and before Noah could actually reply, Austin pulled me with him.
“Hindi ka dapat sumasama kung kani-kanino,” sambit n’ya. Gusto sanang sabihin na hindi ka dapat nang sisindak basta-basta kaso naalala ko na baka isumbong lang niya ako, “Hindi ka umuwi kagabi. You should apologize—”
“To who?”
“Nevermind,” he mumbled.
Pinanliitan ko siya ng mga mata nang may mapansin akong kakaiba sa kanya, na tila ba parang may bumabagabag sa kanya. At isa pa, hindi dapat siya gumagala ngayon lalo na’t si Logan ang kasama namin dapat ngayon dahil kung wala na nga ako tapos wala pa siya sa tabi ni Logan, kailangan na namin mag-hukay ng sarili namin paghihimlayan.
“That reminds me, I’m hungry.” He suddenly laughed after hearing my stomach’s rumbling thunder.
Nang magpunta kami sa university canteen ay agad s’yang pumila at bumili ng pagkain para sa aming dalawa. At dahil ubos na ang mga upuan na pang-dalawang tao ay napilitan kaming pumwesto sa may habang table.
Mabilis kong nilantakan ang pagkain kong binili n’ya dahil sa gutom. Walang mag-iinarte ngayon, maganda pa rin naman ako kahit mukhang patay-gutom na.
“Amputa, ang siba mo.”
I rolled my eyes at him, “Don’t divert your problem on me. Chinichika mo lang ako para hindi mo maalala ang problema mo e. So what is it?”
Agad siyang napangiwi at pilit na tumawa, “Hanging out with you is really a pain in the ass.”
“I don’t care about your comments. So?”
I intently looked at him as he avoided my eyes, he leisurely let out a sigh, “My parents told me that I have a fiancé,” he paused and leaned forward to me, “And I am freaking out because my fiancé was my polar opposite.” He was whispering as if he doesn’t want others to hear the name of the person he will utter.
“It was Hallie,” I replied and smirked at him. His eyes widened, and his puffs the hues of roses, which made me laugh, “No harm, Austin. Crush mo naman ‘yon.”
“Wh—what?!”
“Is it wrong that I know you have a crus—”
“It was an elementary thing!” He exclaimed. I patted his head and messed up his hair, “You dimwit!”
I was about to laugh when numbers began to pop all over him. The numbers were rising quickly as Austin’s face blushes more.
I clicked my tongue and looked at Austin, “Hallie,” I mumbled.
And just like I thought, the numbers were excessively rising.
120
130
140—
“Kingina. Kinikilig ka?” Barumbadong tanong ko sa kanya. Ngunit hindi ko na nagawang hintayin pa ang sagot sa tanong n’ya nang tumunog ang cellphone ko.
“Scarlett,” he called. But I was too busy opening the DANIMA app, “Ang sama ng loob namin sa’yo.”
Agad ko rin tinago agad sa bulsa ko ang cellphone nang lumapit sa akin si Austin dahilan upang hindi ko nakita ang notification sa DANIMA.
“Masama pala ang loob n’yo. Bakit mo ako kinakausap?”
He was eyeing me with suspicions and then to the pocket in which I hid my phone.
“Who are you?”
I was baffled by what he was saying first, but then I realized the words behind it. Does that mean he eavesdropped earlier?
“My question is terribly wrong. I’m sorry,”
“Suit yourself, Austin.”
“Which Amethyst are you? Hunter’s protector or the new DANIMA player?”
Fucking kill me now.
#
BINABASA MO ANG
Amethyst: Game Start
Science FictionPhantom Academy was a prestigious school for the elites. Everything was in order not until a mysterious game emerged, which lies beyond their phones. A game wherein points matter more than a person's life. COMPLETED| Gemstone Duology #1
