A/N: Let's kick off this anthology with Lorelei's entry!

LORELEI

I DON'T really have favorites. But if I were asked kung ano'ng kuwento ng QED Club na gusto kong i-share, our team building quickly came to mind. I haven't posted this story in my blog yet kaya wala pang ibang nakababasa.

Looking back, that wasn't really a case. Not in Loki's standards. Wala namang pinatay sa kalagitnaan ng gabi. Wala namang kinidnap habang busy kami sa activities. Wala namang nalason habang kumakain kami sa boodle fight. It's more like a fun yet challenging exercise.

This story may sound different from the ones that I usually post on my blog. But it's definitely worth sharing.

It all started with the invitation from the student council, delivered to us by student executive committee one morning. We were in the middle of a case discussion in the clubroom. Nakaupo kaming apat nina Loki, Jamie at Alistair sa palibot ng mesa nang may kumatok sa aming pinto. Since Loki was too lazy to open the door, si Alistair na mismo ang tumayo at nagbukas ng pinto.

Guess who personally delivered the message?

"No, Loki. You're required to attend the team building for non-mandated organizations." Margarette Fernandez, the chairwoman of the execom herself, broke the news to us. Nakapamewang siyang humarap kay Loki na parang teacher na nile-lecture-an ang kanyang estudyante.

Everyone who knows our club president probably had an idea on why and how he reacted to the invitation. Pagkasabi pa lang sa kanya na may gaganaping team building, kaagad na niyang itinurn down ito.

"Let us be realistic," he said. Napangalumbaba pa siya at nakatingin sa asul na kalangitan sa labas. You know he's not interested at all when he averted his eyes elsewhere. "You won't really build any team during these activities. All you wanna do is waste the funds paid by the students and include it in your accomplishment report to prove that you did something this academic year."

Napa-facepalm ako sa sagot niya. Kahit kailan talaga, walang preno ang bibig ni Loki. It did not and would not matter who's in front of him. He would speak out his mind. Kahit siguro ang Pangulo ng Pilipinas ang kaharap niya, paprangkahin niya. I could imagine him being dragged by Presidential Security Group for his frankness.

"If your club doesn't cooperate, we're gonna hold your club budget," Maggie warned, which I honestly don't think would make any difference. "Before you complain that it's against the rules, it's not. The student council has the prerogative kung ire-release ba ang budget na naka-allocate para sa isang club."

That might threaten other club president, but not Loki. He would not easily budge. "You can take our budget, but we won't be participating in your charade. Do you think we're like the other clubs that need money to operate? The only thing necessary for this club to function is our minds. If you're gonna threaten us, think of a better one."

Maggie could only heave a long sigh. I feel her. Sometimes it becomes too pointless to argue with a man who looks at the world from a different perspective. Kung sasali sa debate itong si Loki, baka maipanalo pa niya ang team namin. Or maybe not? Because he might throw insults at the debaters on the other side.

"Can you speak sense to your president?" Sa amin na lumingon ang execom chairwoman. No matter how many threats she throws at our club president, the latter would not give in. "Ang gusto namin ay mas tumibay ang bond n'yo sa isa't isa at makilala n'yo ang officers ng ibang club. Hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit mahirap ipaintindi 'to kay Loki."

"Our bond is already strong," Loki replied, darting a glance at Maggie. "We may have our disagreements every now and then, but that hasn't caused any serious crack in our relationship with one another. As for meeting officers of the other clubs, that's unnecessary. We see no reason why we should."

I couldn't help but smile when he mentioned our bond. While it wasn't the perfect and the best, it's definitely working. It's something that the four of us could be proud of.

May ilang times nang pinagalitan ko siya dahil sa mga ikinilos niya. He was acting childish sometimes kaya kailangan niyang pangaralan na parang bata. I had to tame him whenever he's being harsh to people. I felt like I was her big sister. Thankfully, he did not take my scolding of him negatively. Mukhang tumalab naman sa kanya dahil may nakikita akong pagbabago sa kanya.

As for my relationship with Jamie, we weren't in good terms when she joined the club. Remember when she came to the club and asked for our help to catch her secret admirer? She was kinda rude to me, mocking me at every turn. She saw me as a threat to her potential love story with Loki. Kinailangan ko pang i-assure sa kanya na wala akong interest romantically sa lalaking gusto niya. So we're okay now, I guess?

How about Alistair? We've been good friends since we were kids. We trust and understand each other kaya siguro hindi rocky ang friendship namin. We never had any serious disagreements. Gano'n din siya sa iba sa amin. Pero may ilang times ding nagkabanggaan ang opinion niya at ni Loki. Hindi naman naging dahilan 'yon para magkatampuhan sila.

"I agree with Loki dear!" Jamie, as expected, came to the defense of our club president. She always sways whichever direction Loki was blowing. Lagi siyang "I second the motion." If Loki were going to hell, she would happily accompany him there. "Pero baka pwede nating i-consider ang pagsali sa team building?"

Kumurap ang mga mata kong nagawi sa kanya at bahagyang kumunot ang aking noo. Tama ba ang narinig ko? Parang sinabi niyang "yes, but..." Kahit si Alistair na nag-e-expect ding kakampihan ni Jamie si Loki, nasorpresa rin. That was kinda unexpected.

"Solving cases is surely our way of bonding," she went on, making some hand gestures. "That has become our way of life here! Pero baka we can find a way to bond nang wala tayong iniimbestigahang case? Just enjoy and chill! The team building presents that perfect opportunity."

Easier said than done, Jamie. I lost count of the times we only wanted to "chill," but we still got involved in cases. I was starting to think that we had been cursed. Sinusundan na yata talaga kami ng mga kaso kahit saan kami magpunta.

"Jamie's right." Alistair nodded, folding his arms as he reclined in his chair. "We've been busy with cases left and right. We deserve a breather, don't we? Away from this clubroom. Away from our clients. Away from this school."

"At wala naman tayong gagastusin, 'di ba?" Jamie turned to Maggie and asked for confirmation.

"Tama. This is an all-expense paid activity by the student council," she answered, nodding. I heard Jamie let out a sigh of relief. "As how Loki put it bluntly, we're gonna waste the funds paid by the students in their tuition fee."

"Money is not the issue here," Loki argued. That's obviously the least of his concerns. "My point is, we're gonna waste a day—"

"Two days," Maggie corrected him. "Two days and one night, to be specific."

"Fine! We're gonna waste two days to achieve what? Team unity a.k.a. something that we've already achieved even without this team building? Now do you see why that activity won't benefit us in any way?"

Bumuntong-hininga ako. That's Loki being Loki for you. The way he looks at things astounds me sometimes. Kadalasang taliwas sa pananaw ng marami ang kanyang opinyon. I may not agree with him most of the time, but to be able to speak out his mind regardless of how people would react to it was a big feat.

"But this team building is a great opportunity to test that unity," Alistair replied. "Mas mabuti nga na malaman natin kung gaano katibay ang bond natin bilang isang team. Magbe-benefit pa rin tayo kahit paano, tama?"

Like me, Alistair would always try to challenge Loki's twisted perspective in life. The team building may or may not bring us closer together, but it certainly would test the foundation of our relationship with one another and see if it's strong enough to withstand any earthquakes that may attempt to shake us.

Let me put an end to this conflict. Hangga't walang naglalagay ng tuldok sa usaping 'to, hindi matatapos ang debate tungkol sa team building. "Shall we decide the democratic way?"

Loki rolled his eyes at my mention of the word democratic. I couldn't say if he hates that term or only when he feels the result wouldn't go his way. Mukhang ramdam na niya kung ano ang magiging desisyon ng majority.

"All those in favor of joining the team building, raise your hands." I spoke loud enough so everyone in the room would hear. Maggie only stood there and watched as Jamie, Alistair and I held our right hands up in the air. "All those against?"

Loki groaned as he was the only one who raised his hand. Kung kumampi sa kanya si Jamie, magiging tie ang resulta. 'Di ko alam kung ano'ng nakain ng kanyang number one cheerleader, pero mabuti nang pumanig siya sa amin sa pagkakataong 'to.

"Sorry, Loki dear," bulong ni Jamie. She did not have to feel guilty about her vote. "But I promise you, the team building is gonna be fun, hindi mo pagsisisihang sumama ka."

"The vote is three-one," I announced before I turned to the execom chairwoman. "The QED Club is going to join the team building activities."

"So that's how you beat Loki?" Maggie mused. She cracked a smile, delighted to witness Loki's defeat. Halatang pinipilit niyang pigilan ang kanyang tawa. "By a mere show of hands?"

"That's the power of the majority," I replied.

If there's one thing I like about Loki, it's his respect to our decisions whenever he's outvoted. He could have thrown a tantrum and ranted about how idiotic our decision was. But he only shrank in his seat and accepted that the will of the three of us must be followed. 

q.e.d.

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