What the Future Holds

Chapter 6: we'll work on that

"NO, I'm afraid na hindi po ako makakapunta sa Academy niyo"

malungkot na wika ng isang Babae. tantya ni Cassey ay hindi ito lumalayo sa edad niya. hindi niya maaninag ang mukha ng dalaga pero alam niyang babae ito sa tono ng boses ng kausap.

"could you tell me why? we will provide you with everything for free. walang tuition, wala kang babayaran sa dorms, wala kang ilalabas na pera sa bulsa mo"  Cassey assured her. 

"pero ate, ang mama ko po. ako lang ang inaasahan niya. Scholar din naman po ako dito sa eskwelahan namin ate. ang sabi niyo po kasi Kuiper Academy will be focused on training our so-called abilities. ano na lang pong trabaho ang makukuha ko sa future? i need to graduate with degree, ate. i am and will be the breadwinner of the family. all i want is the best for our family" naiiyak na wika ng kausap niya. 

Nagising si Cassey nang tapikin siya sa balikat ni manong Jun. it is not just a dream, it is her vision. It will happen in the next few months and she's sure of it. Cassey then got her phone and wrote down what she remembered in her vision. the trainers adviced her to do this everytime she experiences it. 

nagpasalamat siya kay manong at bumaba na sa bus. she kept on thinking about her vision while she walks towards the council meeting room. mukha itong lutang at wala sa huwisyo.

hindi maatim ni Cassey ang disisyon ng dalaga. she understand and feels the pain of an innocent girl like her. kung tutuusin din naman kasi talaga ay hindi nila matetrain ang mga estudyante for the common world. survival laban sa mga kauri nila ang focus ng academy, to prepare the students to fight for what is right and protect the common people pero hindi ang para ihanda silang magsurvive sa real world.

nagulat siya nang biglang may tumahol sa likuran niya at tumatakbo ito papunta sa direksyon niya. nakita niya ang isang Golden Retriever na tumatakbo patungo sa kanya! sa tuwa niya ay agad itong lumuhod para makasalubong ang asong ito at tumigil naman ito sa harapan ni Cassey.

"oh my gosh! what's your name doggo?" tanong ni Cassey habang pinepet ang asong malambing na nakikitungo sa dalaga. 

tuwang tuwa siya at ngayon na lang ulit siya nakakita ng aso. sobrang cute ng golden retriever na ito. tiningnan ni Cassey ang aso nang maigi, baka may name tag ito o kung ano mang indikasyon kung ano ang pangalan ng aso ngunit wala siyang nahanap.

"ang cute cute mo naman! nasaan na ang master mo, cutie doggo?" dinidilaan na siya ng aso habang walang pagpipigil ang pag kawag ng buntot nito.

maya maya pa ay may naaninagan na siyang isang lalaki na naghuhumangos sa pagtakbo papunta sa kinaroroonan nila. "Toothpaste!" sigaw ng lalaki

Cassey can't help but to stare at the guy. he has an angelic face, sharp nose, fair skin and dark hair. he is attractive.

"where have you been, toothpaste? we're not familiar with this place you should have stayed by my side!" he said while talking to the retriever.

tumayo na ang lalaki kaya napatayo na din si Cassey. "thank you for looking after my dog. and pasensya na if he disturbed you" wika ng lalaki

"no! it's okay! pangpa tanggal ng stress! sobrang cute mo kasi" wika ni cassey at nang marealize niya kung ano ang lumabas sa bibig niya ay agad niya itong dinugtungan "toothpaste, sobrang cute mo!" Cassey claimed and she pet the dog again. 

"bago ka lang din ba dito?" tanong ng lalaki kay Cassey.

"actually no. i am a neophyte here by around three months?" tumango tango ang lalaki at napakamot sa ulo "i may not know the classifications here kasi nabanggit nung nag recruit samin dito na there are certain classifications here pero hindi pa daw established since kakaopen lang ng academy? but i guess nauna kang nakapunta dito?" he said with a shy smile.

"i guess you could say that" and Cassey gave him her sweetest smile too "ah! by the way, I'm Cassey. Cassey Guevara. I can kinda see the future" Cassey held out her hands for a hand shake

"Mikael Jung. Just call me Kael. I still don't know what powers do i possess. i guess i still have to find out." 

nagulat si Cassey sa iwinika ng binata. she didn't expect that he would just easily believe that he has super powers considering na they are in 11th grade. it took her months to understand and accept things when her mom explained it to her pero bakit ang binata ay parang cool lang sa mga nagaganap sa buhay niya?

"Cassey!" one of the neophytes called. "magsisimula na ang meeting! your mom is expecting you to join!" she said. 

"pano ba yan, i have to go. nice meeting you Mikael! see you later!" she cheerfully said at dumako naman ang atensyon ni Cassey sa cute na aso. "see you later, toothpaste. pag nagkita tayo gusto kong malaman kung bakit sa ikina cute mo ay toothpaste ang ipinangalan sayo" natatawa nitong banggit habang pinapat ang ulo ni toothpaste. narinig din naman niya ang munting tawa ni Mikael.

Cassey waved good bye and went straight to the conference room for the meeting.

                                                                                                   ***

"what do you think?" tanong ng council representative.

nasa conference room pa din ako and we're still in a meeting. nasa anim lang kami sa room na ito and obviously ako ang pinakabata. Mom, the head of the academy who manages Kuiper Academy; Sir Abiel as the council representative who used to be a student at enchanted academy, Mr. Rendel as the head of machines department, Ms. Geninah as the head of recruitment team, Mr. Phan as the head of trainers committee, and I as the student representative kahit iilan pa lang kami dito.

"we are still in the early stages. bilang pa sa daliri ang mga tinetrain natin dito but the number is continuing to grow. we need to establish protocols, guidelines, and school identity. we are expecting to have more than a hundred students and we need to have an organized chart of everything" Mom explained as she stands in front to facilitate this meeting.

"we weren't able to properly estimate how many element users are there. when the council redistributed the powers, we were not aware if a certain element was split into half for a weaker level or if new elements emerged.  it is also possible that a single person has two elements in them as to what the former queen and legendary came to be" Mr. Abiel shared as he twirls his ballpen into his finger. 

"we are now conducting researches if it is possible to determine the true value of element holders. we are now dealing with a machine company for assistance once that our research is finish. mapagkakatiwalaan naman ang kumpanyang ito dahil alumni ng enchanted academy ang may ari nito." Mr. Rendel claimed.

"okay, so we'll figure out more on the capacity that the academy could accommodate. are there any other concerns?" Mom asked. i was hesitant at first pero i decided to raise a hand. it is my duty and obligation to share what the future holds

"yes, Cassey?" she granted me a permission to speak.

"what if we make some changes on how this academy works?" I suggested.

"what changes are you talking about?"

"well, instead of an academy wherein students would train for 24/7, why dont we make use of our powers to make this as solely for a training ground? like somewhat freeze the time in the common world to allow me and my fellow element holder to train here while not wasting our time in the common world?" if that makes sense.

"what do you mean Cassey?"

"well, i had this vision when i was on my way back here. there was an element holder and she possess a strong one, at least based on the energy that she's giving me. so, i tried to recruit her but she won't come kasi kailangan niyang makagraduate with a degree para mataas ang chance niya sa pakikipagsapalaran sa common world. you know, if we are fighting here for our survival against discrimination or possible invaders of black magic, same goes when we come back to the common world"

natahimik ang silid at tila ba nasa malalim na pagiisip ang mga kasama ko. i hope they got my point.

"very well said, we'll work on that" my mom said.

"thank you" i replied. and after tackling some other issues, the meeting was adjourned.