The Gifted

Chapter 3: Guardian

Minutes of silence already passed, no one dared to talk nor moved. We all were very serious and exerting too much focus on ourselves, preparing for the next move of the person behind the incident earlier. Nasa likoran lang kami ni Miss Vivian. Jane grabbed my hand, she was trembling and her hand was cold like ice. She's scared.

I could also feel a little bit of uneasiness right now but being scared would not help us. I didn't know what was happening. This school, isa ito sa mga high standard and secured schools kaya nagtataka ako kung bakit may nakapasok na masamang tao. Isa pang iniisip ko ngayon ay kung bakit kulay green ang mga mata ni Miss Vivian. Is this the reason why she is always wearing her sunglasses?  Sure naman ako na hindi iyon contact lenses.

Umayos ng tayo si Miss Vivian at humarap sa amin kaya umayos na rin kami ng tayo at bahagyang pinagpagan ang mga uniform namin.

“I think umalis na iyong may gawa niyan.” She pointed her right index finger sa kutsilyo na nakatusok ngayon sa picture frame na nasa likod namin. Pinasadahan naman namin ito ng tingin at tumango na lang. Kinuha niya ang mga gamit na binitiwan niya kanina at muli itong binitbit. Miss Vivian smiled and signaled us to follow her.

“Woah, she is indeed beautiful,” manghang sabi ni Adrian. Tumango naman kami ni Jane. Ngayon ko lang nakita si Miss Vivian na walang suot na sunglasses and yes, she is really gorgeous. Nagsimula na kaming maglakad at sinundan si Miss Vivian na nasa unahan namin.

“I know you three have questions. I'll answer that later at the office,” ani Miss Vivian habang naglalakad. Hindi gaanong kalayo ang aming nilakad ngayon hindi pareha kanina.

We were facing a simple wooden door. Hindi siya gaanong kagandahan hindi tulad sa mga pinto ng ibang office na napuntahan namin. Mas maganda pa nga ang pinto ng classroom namin kaysa dito. I stared deeply at the door and then saw unfamiliar character carved on the sides of the door. Hindi ito gaano ka visible dahil maliliit ang mga ito. This door gave us an old and magical like vibe.

Miss Vivian grabbed the doorknob and opened the door she then looked at us and mouthed come in kaya sumunod kami sa kaniya at pumasok na rin. We couldn't stop looking around the room the moment we went inside. This room is epic! There were two chandeliers hanging on the royal-like ceiling, bookshelves placed at the right side of the room filled with different books, a one wide window at the center and beside it was a golden table full of papers, documents, and the likes. The floor was made of marbles, there were different paintings hanged on the wall, and there was a sofa in front of the golden table. Mayroon ding aircon kaya nakayakap kami sa aming mga sarili dahil sa lamig.

Hininaan muna ni Miss Vivian ang aircon, napansin siguro niya na nilalamig kami. Naglakad na siya patungo sa table at umupo doon.

“Umupo muna kayong tatlo,” sabi niya. Agad naman kaming sumunod at naglakad patungo sa sofa at umupo. Nang makaupo na kami ay agad na nagsimulang magsalita si Miss Vivian kaya nakinig kami sa kaniya.

“Alam ko na narinig niyo na kung ano ang nangyari last year noong may pinatawag akong limang students dito sa office ko,” simula niya. Tumango lang kaming tatlo bilang sagot. Kinabahan ako bigla sa kung ano ang susunod niyang sasabihin. Napalunok na lang ako ng laway. Kinalma ko ang sarili ko at bahagyang tumingin sa dalawa kong kasama. Tulad ko, I could see that they were also nervous and afraid of being kicked out.

“Don’t worry, what happened to them will not happen to you. You won't be kicked out from this school.” Parang nabunutan kami ng tinik dahil sa sinabi ni Miss Vivian. It felt like we were cured from a malignant disease. Sabay kaming tatlo na huminga ng malalim kaya bahagya kaming napatawa.

“I called you here because I need your help, we need your help.” Biglang sumeryoso ang paligid, maging ang mukha ni Miss ay seryoso rin.

“What do you mean Miss?” tanong ni Jane sa kaniya.

“Last year, those students were the best students in this school. I mean sa top ten best students, sila ang nasa top five. Each of them was best in their own field. Because of that, they became targets of the black organization.” Kumunot bigla ang noo ko dahil sa narinig. Black organization? I think I heard it somewhere.

Inisip ko kaagad kung saan ko nga ba ito narinig. “Black organization,” I murmured then bwala! Narinig kong nag-uusap si mama at kuya tungkol dito noon. Natigil lamang ang pag-uusap nila noong napansin nila ako at agad nilang iniba ang topic ng usapan nila. Nagtanong pa nga ako noon kung ano ang black organization na narinig ko ngunit sinabi lang nila na baka namali lang ako ng dinig. Naniwala naman ako kaagad dahil kakagising ko lang din naman noong nangyari iyon. Pero ngayon na sinabi ito ni Miss Vivian ay nakompirma ko na they were really talking about this black organization before and I didn't know why the both of them knew about this.

“I once heard my parents talking about this black organization pero hindi ko na iyon inisip. Akala ko they were just talking about an organization connected in our business,” sabi ni Adrian na nakakunot ang noo.

Biglang bumuntong hininga si Miss at sumandal sa kaniyang inuupuan.

“Why are you asking us for help?” Matapos ko iyong sabihin ay biglang tumayo si Miss Vivian at lumapit sa amin at tumabi ng upo.

“It is hard for me to explain everything to you since wala kayong alam ni isa. Pero, malalaman at malalaman niyo rin ang lahat and I think this isn't the right time.” Ningitian niya kami.

“Wait, what? Mawalang galang lang po Miss Vivian pero hindi ko po kayo gets.” Tumawa naman si Adrian matapos niya iyong sabihin.

“But the important thing here is hindi tayo makikick out sa school. And tungkol sa tulong na hinihingi niyo sa amin Miss Vivian…” Huminto sa pagsasalita si Jane nang biglang umilaw ang suot niyang kwintas. Palakas nang palakas ang ilaw nito kaya agad kaming napatayo at bahagyang lumayo sa kaniya.

“What’s happening?” gulat na tanong ni Adrian.

“Jane? Ano iyan?” tanong ko rin. Nakita kong bahagyang ngumisi si Miss Vivian kaya nagtaka ako. Isn't she afraid or what?

Ang kaninang umiilaw na liwanag ay biglang lumabas sa kwintas ni Jane. And the next thing happened made my mouth wide open. I couldn't believe it.

“Wha-what the heck? A-ano iyan? Si-sino yan?” utal na tanong ni Adrian. Tiningnan ko si Jane, she just shrugged her shoulders as if telling me that she also didn't know what was happening. Pero ang ipinagtataka ko ay hindi siya nagulat sa nangyari. Nakasimangot lang siya at masamang tiningnan ang nilalang na biglang nag-appear mula sa kwintas na suot niya. A handsome lad wearing a full black outfit. Black leather shoes, black socks, black tattered pants, black inner shirt at black suite. Tiningnan ko si Miss Vivian at hindi siya nagulat bagkos ay nakangisi lamang ito.

“Hi.” Bigla akong napasigaw nang magsalita itong taong lumabas sa kwintas ni Jane.

“Si-sino ka?” tanong ko sa kaniya. Tiningnan ko naman si Jane na ngayon ay nakasimangot. “You already knew this?” tanong ko kay Jane. Tumango lamang ito at inirapan ako.

“He was the reason kung bakit na late ako kanina,” ani Jane na halatang pikon at galit.

“I’m Leo. Jane's guardian. Nice meeting you.” Ningitian niya ako kaya tumango na lamang ako at umatras nang makalayo ako sa kaniya. Si Adrian? Nakabukas pa rin ang bibig at nanigas sa kinatatayuan.