RISA MOONSTEIN

Chapter 15

Last night's dinner was spectacular. The whole dining table had food in it. It was like a reunion kung saan nakakapag-usap ang lahat, how their day went, tawanan, kamustahan. It seems like they were family. They had great food, who would've guessed that Conny was the cook ! On top of it all, they were good to us. They welcomed us with amiable hands.

They didn't at all discriminate me at parang nakikita ko ng mali ang lahat ng sinasabi nila. Kesyo mahihirap patunguan ang mga members ng Royal Ten, mga mayayabang, arogante but I don't see any of those habang kumakain kami sa iisang mesa. All I could see was a family.

It's true mayroong ilan na gloomy kung tignan, always frowning, never seeing them smile, na parang may tinatago silang hinanakit but once you know them, they're actually good.

Days passed on and life within the dorm was pretty normal. I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that Locke bore no magic. The strongest student and hailed as the First Seat didn't have any magic in him. Nevertheless, hanga pa rin ako sa kaniya. He relies on technology but uses magical principles. He's one of a kind. Not only that, he had a laboratory of which that he promised to show me.

"Just right around here." Locke told me, rounding up a corner where a door of magnificent red faced me.

"This is your laboratory ?" ginusto niya kasi akong i-tour sa may kabuuan ng dorm nila and so here I am in their basement dahil nakita ko na ang lahat ng kanilang kwarto and he insisted that he show it to me. Diana was already asleep, she decided na hindi na sumama sa akin after I assured her that I will be safe kahit na labag sa kalooban niya. Pagod na rin siguro siya sa pag-iikot sa mala-palasyong dormitoryong ito.

"Yeah, it isn't much but it suffices my needs." he turned the knob to reveal a much more modernistic appealing room. "It's true that I'm not really a wizard, but I am an inventor."

Napa-nganga ako sa buong lugar. Para akong nasa iba pang mundo, it's like where the future resides. The walls were made of pale white painted blocks, at napakalinis ang lahat.

"What are these ?" I curiously asked habang turo-turo sa mga estante sa may isang side ng laboratoryo kung saan mayroong mga iba't ibang naka-display na lalagyanan, seeming to contain some kind of swirling cloud. Iba't ibang ang mga kulay nito, iba kada row ng estante. It's like a collection of some sort.

"These are my containers for magic." he procured one and held it out in his hand. The bubbling cloud inside swirled rapidly when he touched it.

"Containers-- for magic ?"

"Yeah, hindi mo ba naalala ? I copy spells para magamit ko sila and then I install then on my gun."

"Ohh, oo nga pala." so dito niya inilalagay ang mga spells na gusto niyang kopyahin para magamit niya. "How do you acquire it, though ?"

"Well, I do need some help. Regularly, may pinapababa ako dito at pinapa-cast ko sila ng spell sa malaking kwartong iyon." turo niya sa may adjacent na kwarto. May isang malaking salamin para makita mo kung ano ang nangyayari sa loob. Parang recording studio lang, pero pa-laboratory ang dating. "The Absorption Room is where my subjects perform their magic and the room absorbs it, hence the name. Through it, nagagamit ko ang spells nila."

Umupo siya sa harap ng isang malaking computer na may apat na naglalakihang monitor. "This is where I do the actual coding." he started it up at lumabas ang mga arcane looking lines of text na hindi ko maintindihan. "It's very hard to transfer it to this." he wiggled his gun around, holding it by the holster and his finger at the trigger habang nilalaro ito nang nakatutok sa ulo niya. 

"Please, don't do that." alala kong sabi. One wrong move from him, he's dead.

"Don't worry," he grinned. "This isn't loaded with anything yet. The command comes from my mind to activate it." I only sighed. Kinabahan ako ng walang rason. "You're cute though, when you're worried."