『SKYLER』

Fire… Sapphire Mendoza.

She made the history repeat itself—those captivating eyes, the grand entrance, that beautiful face. Her mere presence screams her name…

But… something is wrong.

She’s like Ice but feels not.

Dad, Master Garet, said nothing about the girl named Sapphire. All he knew was her name, not her face. He told me that she was an applicant from overseas, making her participate in an online examination, which she nailed.

And the Rule-Breakers, especially my Dad, were in charge of the Shier University—they’ve been managing it amazingly for the past years. On the other hand, my mother and dad’s delayed love story continued as they locked it with a vow.

The most amazing part of their story was my younger brother, Bleuford Morgan; he was named after Aizen’s soul because of her gestational cravings towards Blue.

Nang tumunog ang bell, lahat kami ay inayos ang aming mga sarili. Dadating na ba s’ya?

Wala sa sarili akong napalunok habang hinihintay si Mr. Panther, nang bumukas ang pinto, bumungad sa amin ang hindi maipintang mukha ni Mr. Panther. Hindi n’ya rin alam tungkol kay Sapphire. Ginala n’ya ang kanyang mga mata, tila may hinahanap hanggang sa tumigil ito sa amin.

Nawala ang atensyon naming lahat nang may sumunod kay Mr. Panther sa loob, halos lahat ng mga tao sa paligid ay laglag pangang tiningnan siya.

Tuhimkhim si Mr. Panther, sinilip si Sapphire na para bang hindi pa rin siya makapaniwala sa nakikita n’ya. “Good Morning, class. She is your new classmate.”

Kung ang mga tao ay nagbubulungan sa napakaganda n’yang mukha, ang mga demigods ay hindi. Nakatingin lamang sila kay Sapphire, hindi makapaniwala sa nakikita nila ngayon.

And once again, I looked at her. Damn, that beautiful face is radiating! She’s wearing a black coat with the university’s seal in the upper right and beneath it was a white long sleeve and maroon necktie along with a plain maroon skirt, above the knee length black socks a pair of two-inches black shoes.

Sapphire languidly smiled. “My name is Sapphire Mendoza. 20 years old.”

Whispers began to get rowdy as they started to gaze at her with interest.

“Oh my! I would definitely kill for that eyes!”

“Is her hair color real?”

“Half-half siguro siya.”

“O-M-G! Magkatabi sila ni Skymyloves!”

Mr. Panther unknowingly pointed the seat beside me. Nang magsimulang maglakad patungo sa direksyon ko si Sapphire, paulit-ulit kong minura sa isip ko si Serena at kung bakit wala akong katabi.

Tinagilid ni Sapphire ang kanyang ulo nang makarating s’ya sa harap ko habang nanliliit ang mga mata niya, tila ba’y inaalala kung saan niya ako nakita.

“Ah!” She flatly screamed. “Fucking hell! You’re the man who cried in the hallway three days ago!”

I kept straight-faced, acting as if I didn’t recall that specific event. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Be cool, Sky. Be cool.

And before she could utter another word, I meaningfully looked at Mr. Panther, who immediately cleared his throat. “Ms. Mendoza, please take a seat. We are about to start.”

Bago tuluyan na maupo si Sapphire, saglit s’yang sumilip sa kaklase naming natutulog. Ang weird. Is she just a lookalike? Tahimik ang buong paligid, tanging boses lamang ni Mr. Panther ang maririnig. Ngunit sa loob ko, ang buong sistema ko’y nagtatalo tungkol sa babaeng katabi ko.

Are the gods messing with us by sending a woman who exactly looked like her? Or she’s Ice, and she’s clearly messing with us? And if that’s the case, we need a fucking explanation.

“Mr. Montereal!” Mr. Panther screamed at the top of his lungs. Still, Theo remained asleep.

And because Mr. Panther’s temper is shorter than Sue’s height, he threw his whiteboard marker to Theo just to wake him up, but his plan failed. Theo didn’t move even though the wild horse was fuming with anger, nor was his seatmates elbowing him.

“Damn.” I heard Sapphire whispered.

She looked tense and uneasy. Lumingon siya sa likod, tiningnan ang katabi ng silya ni Theo, may muli siyang binulong ngunit masyado iyong mahina upang marinig ko. Nang lumapit si Mr. Panther kay Theo ay lalong nabalisa si Sapphire at bago pa man masapak ni Mr. Panther si Theo, mabilis na tumayo si Sapphire at pinigilan siya.

Sapphire heaved a sigh. “He’s already dead. Don’t hit him anymore,” she calmly said.

She once again glanced in the empty side of Theo’s place as if she was communicating with someone, making us look at her with so much confusion. Mr. Panther quietly checked Theo’s pulse. He switched glance towards Sapphire and Theo.

“Bloody Styx…” Mr. Panther said. “How did you—”

“I can see dead people.” She interrupted. Tiningnan s’ya ng iba na para bang hindi sila makapaniwala, maliban sa aming mga demigods. Wala ng bago sa mga bagay na ganito—Aizen can see souls, while Serena is being guarded by Tita Emerald’s spirit.

But the question is… if she’s Ice, how can she see dead people?

A smile slowly curved in her beautiful face. “Oh my! Are you really believing that stupid joke?” she sardonically asked Mr. Panther.

“I’m sorry… what?!”

“Obviously, it was a joke. Paano naman ako makakakita ng patay?” Sapphire laughed, slowly letting go of Mr. Panther’s wrist. She glanced to Theo and said, “Mr. Montereal didn’t twitch nor budge when you shouted and threw your marker at him.”

“Some kids are heavy sleepers, ija.”

“Pero ilang beses na s’yang siniko ng mga katabi niya, hindi p’wedeng hindi pa rin siya magigising.” Ang mga mata niya’y dahan-dahan na sumilip sa tabi ni Mr. Panther, saglit niyang binuksan ang bibig niya’t tumingin ulit kay Mr. Panther. “But don’t worry… none of the students here killed him. Anyway does Mr. Montereal have any medical history of any diseases?”

Tumikhim ang isang kaibigan ni Theo na nasa unahan nila. “His family have a history of coronary heart disease.”

Sapphire turned her back against them and started inspecting Theo’s belongings. “And what happened this morning?”

“Dumating siya nang mas maaga sa usual na pagpasok niya. Saglit kaming nag-kuwentuhan hanggang sa ma-open niya ‘yong problema sa pamilya niya na noong isang linggo niya gustong sabihin sa akin—it’s about his parents getting a divorce. Simula noong malaman n’ya iyon ay nagsimula na rin siyang mag-stress eating.”

Sapphire opened Theo’s bag and took all the food out in it. All of it contains high cholesterol and fats, foods that are prohibited to people with heart disease.

Tiningnan ni Sapphire ang kaibigan ni Theo. “May ininda ba siyang sakit kaninang umaga?”

“Yes! Sabi niya ay hindi raw maganda ang pakiramdam niya na para bang nahihilo siya’t bumibilis ang tibok ng puso niya. I offered Theo to accompany him in the clinic, but he declined and told me that he’ll rest in his desk for a while.”

Sapphire started to nod her head as if she were some kind of high school detective who solved a case. She suddenly faced Mr. Panther and confidently looked at him.

“With all of this food that he was eating for the past week. It triggered his coronary heart disease. The cholesterol and fatty materials build up in the inner wall of arteries, and it leads to Atherosclerosis. This cholesterol and fat can limit blood flow to the heart muscle by physically clogging the artery or causing irregular artery tone and function. And what he suffered today is a sudden Cardiopulmonary Arrest — you already said that he felt his heart beating faster than the normal beat, which is Ventricular fibrillation. He felt nauseated. That is a common sign of it. And now he’s dead.”

At pagkatapos niyang buksan ang isang chicharron, umakto siya na para bang wala na ang may-ari noon. Should I remind her that it is still Theo’s snack?

All of a sudden, Serena stole her attention by coughing sassily. “How sigurado are you that it was the punot-dulo?”

“Mukha ba akong bobo?” Pangasar na tinagilid ni Sapphire ang kanyang ulo’t nginisian si Serena. “If you think that I am. Then you are stupider than I am.”

I unconsciously laughed as Sapphire got her things even without Mr. Panther’s approval. And before Sapphire could leave the room, she teasingly tapped Serena’s shoulder and said, “Class is already over, Undersea.”

And she disappeared, the bell abruptly rang. Undersea? Don’t tell me… is she really Ice?
­

Mabilis din na umalis si Mr. Panther pagka-dismiss niya sa amin, siya na rin ang mismong nag-report kayna Dad dahilan upang asikasuhin nina Tito Jackson at Tita Leyla ang lahat, at dahil sa biglaang pangyayari ay na-cancel lahat ng klase sa buong araw.

At dahil sa cancellation of classes, most of the students went home while the others went to the university canteen. And because today is Friday, students can freely go home, but they must come back before Monday, especially that Shier University was made as a boarding school.

A lot of things changed over time. As of now, Primus Section no longer exists. With only three primary sections existing per level—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades Section- we became a part of the Zeus Section and the demigods who were once part of it.

But it doesn’t mean that our kind will settle in this kind of living, the Demigods Academy is under construction with my mother’s command. Masyadong strikto ang mga anak ni Athena, dahil kanyang school naman daw talaga iyon ay siya na raw mismo ang mag-aayos niyon katulong ang ibang mga fairies at satyrs.

My thoughts drifted away when I noticed that I was already near Riley’s tree, his last memory, which I made sure to live. And before I could actually go rest in the under it gloom shade, my attention was stolen by a woman standing in front of it.

I was on her side, and I could see her glimmering eyes, as well as her lips, moving, talking to the tree. I silently walked near her; she was too focused on the tree that she failed to feel my presence.

“…we will need your help soon,” she whispered while her eyes were still locked on the tree.

I pursed my lips. “Who are you talking to, Sapphire?”

“I was talking to…” she looked at me with uneasiness, as if she was searching for the right word.

“To whom?”

“To the dead person.”

#

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