ERALD

ITO NA siguro ang isa sa mga pinakamasayang araw sa academic year na 'to.

I wasn't that excited for the club fair. Wala naman kasi akong gagawin dito buong araw kundi umupo at maghintay ng mga estudyanteng gustong magpa-member sa QED Club. Kung tutuusin nga, hindi ko kailangang magbantay. I could leave a pen and paper here and let the interested applicants write down their details.

What I liked about this sort of event was being excused in my classes. Hindi ko na kailangang magpanggap na nakikinig sa teacher o kaya'y makipagplastikan sa mga classmate kong lumalapit sa 'kin tuwing may kailangan. Salamat sa kagalang-galang na student council dahil mas mae-enjoy ko ang huling araw ng linggo.

As early as six in the morning, club officers were already putting up their booths and decorating them in the open area of our campus. Mag-aalas-siyete nang dumating kami ni Charlotte sa aming puwesto.

This club fair was secretly a contest among clubs. The more attractive your booth was, the more chances you would get more members. But I thought of a unique strategy to catch the attention of students. Madaling mapapansin ang booth ng QED Club dahil wala itong kadeko-dekorasyon at nasa gitna pa ng mga agaw-pansing booth ng Chemistry Society at Biological Sciences Society.

"Our booth looks so... boring," komento ni Charlotte habang nakapamewang at inililibot ang mga mata sa katabing booth. Hindi na niya kailangang banggitin ang obvious. "May maeengganyo kayang sumali sa club natin niyan?"

To be honest, this "unique" strategy was also my excuse so we wouldn't be doing too much work on decorating our booth. Gusto ko kasing umuwi nang maaga kahapon kaya hindi ko siya sinipot nang magpatawag siya ng meeting.

"Hindi natin kailangan ng enggrandeng booth," I said in my defense. "If our gimmick later works, we would do better than any of these clubs. Hindi rin natin kasalanan kung kulang tayo sa manpower. Kung mas marami tayong starting members, mas marami sana tayong nagawang paghahanda para sa event na 'to."

Sighing, she rolled her eyes. "If only you helped me come up with designs for the booth yesterday, hindi mauuwi sa ganito. Baka isipin ng mga estudyante na hindi tayo gano'n ka-prepared para sa club fair. This might give them the wrong impression!"

"Huwag ka kasing masyadong negative." My hand waved dismissively. "Hindi lahat ng mga estudyante ay ginagawang basehan ang pagkaka-decorate ng booth para makapag-decide kung aling club ang sasalihan. Our highlight would be the trick later, not this unnecessary display of creativity."

I could see a hint of skepticism in her eyes. Alam kong hindi pa niya ako gano'n kakilala, but I'd rather win this battle in another way — through a fake case — and not in the traditional sense of beautifying the booth and deceiving the students through its appearance.

"May nabili ka na bang tomato juice na gagamitin nating dugo mamaya?" Time to change the topic. "We have to make the act as realistic as possible."

She clapped her hands over her mouth. "Nawala sa isip ko! Mabuti't ipinaalala mo. Teka, bibili muna ako sa cafeteria. Man the booth, okay?"

That's strange. I thought she had a good memory? Kahapon, kabisadong-kabisado niya ang arrangement ng mga ginulong poster sa bulletin board kahit ilang segundo pa lang niya nakikita. How could a simple task of buying tomato juice escape her mind?

Hindi na niya kailangang sabihin kung anong dapat kong gawin. Wala rin naman akong ibang lugar na pupuntahan maliban dito. Well, I could go back to the clubroom, but we still had work to do.

When she was out of my sight, sumilip ako sa aking phone at tiningnan ang oras. Five minutes before seven-thirty in the morning.

"Is this one of your tricks?"

Iniangat ko ang aking tingin sa direksyon kung saan nagmula ang pamilyar na boses. The annoying smile of my classmate Clyde greeted me. Of all the people I would like to see today, he's the last one in the list. Wait, maybe second to the last.

"Ano na namang trick ang sinasabi mo?" I asked curiously.

"Every club has decorated their booths very well... except yours," he replied, his eyes roaming around my simple tent. "You opted not to put any decorations so you would stand out. Am I right?"

This dude almost scared me by how accurately he read my intentions. May lahi ba siyang manghuhula? Teka, hindi dapat ako ma-amaze sa tulad niya.

"You have a habit of doing things in the most unconventional way kaya hindi gano'n kahirap i-predict kung anong gagawin mo," he went on. "Unfortunately, this trick of yours may not work at all. You are standing out in the wrong way."

Go ahead. Insult me and my brilliant plan. Nasasabi niya lang 'yan dahil hindi niya alam kung ano talaga ang binabalak ko. If only he knew, his jaw would drop and he would regret mocking me.

"I heard a lot of good stuff about the QED Club," he said. "They said that they got involved in the most complex of cases a few years ago. Nakakapagtaka nga kung bakit na-dissolve ang club noon. Anyway, you have a large shoes to fill."

Hindi ako gano'n ka-familiar sa history ng club namin. Oo, may mga naririnig akong kwento. But I did not exert any effort on finding out more about this group. Basta ang alam ko, kailangang mapatunayan naming hindi dapat i-dissolve ang club at karapat-dapat kaming mag-stay sa clubroom.

Teka, mukhang sakto ang timing ng kumag na 'to. Kung magkakaroon ng member ang aming club, ang mga tulad niyang may utak at gumagamit ng common sense ang kailangan. Halata naman siguro 'yon nang nagkaharap kami sa Mental Combat.

"Hey," tinatamad kong bati sa kanya. Ginawa ko nang golden rule na huwag makipag-usap sa kagaya niya. Ngunit dahil may kailangan ako, pansamantala ko munang susuwayin ang sarili kong batas. "Naghahanap ka pa rin ng club na sasalihan, 'di ba?"

"Ang galing!" he clapped slowly. "You managed to deduce that? Gaya ng inaasahan sa member ng QED Club!"

Ako lang ba o tila may pagka-sarcastic ang tono ng pananalita niya? Sinabayan niya pa ito ng nakakairitang ngiti. Why was he always smiling? Ipinangangalandakan niya bang mapuputi ang ngipin niya? O baka naman ang dimple niya sa pisngi?

I wanna wipe that curve across his lips and make him kneel before me. But at this moment, I had to set that aside for the sake of our club.

"Nasaan ang mga kasama mo?" nagtatakang tanong niya habang iginagala ang mga mata sa paligid ng booth. No one's playing hide-and-seek here. Or was he insulting me in the least obvious way? "Bakit mag-isa ka rito?"

"Hindi namin kailangan ng maraming members para maging functional ang club," nagmamayabang kong sagot. "I'd rather have five working members than fifty who do nothing. Mas gugustuhin ko pang kaunti at tanging deserving ang sumali sa club kaysa sa mga magsisilbing dekorasyon sa clubroom."

Lalong lumawak ang nakapintang ngiti sa kanyang labi, tila nang-aasar. "But you can't call yourselves a club if there are only one or two members. The Office of Student Affairs won't formally recognize you."

Tch. He hit the bullseye.

"Kaya nga..." tinanggal ko muna ang nakabarang plema sa lalamunan ko at nag-ipon ng lakas ng loob para sabihin ang mga susunod na salita, "... ini-invite kitang sumali sa QED Club."

The silence that followed was kinda awkward. Tanging ang mga kumukurap na mata namin ang nag-uusap. Para kaming mga estatwang nagkaharap sa isa't isa.

A moment later, he bowed his head and touched the bridge of his eyeglasses. I heard a giggle from him. Halatang pinipigilan niya ang kanyang tawa para hindi marinig ng tenga ko. May sinabi ba akong joke?

"Sorry, Erald, but I have no interest in playing detective." Daig ko pa yata ang lalaking ni-reject ng nililigawang babae sa sagot niya.

Convincing people to do something wasn't my forte, but I thought he would respond positively to my effort. A few days ago, he saw through my white board marker switch technique. A few moments ago, he deduced why our booth was not well decorated.

I would hate myself for saying this, but he had the makings of a good detective. Kaya nga nagtataka ako kung bakit hindi siya pumayag. Kahit siguro si Charlotte, hindi magdadalawang-isip na kunin siya sa club.

'Di bale na nga. Kung ayaw, huwag pilitin. Kahit desperado na akong magkaroon ng pangalan ang aming listahan, hindi ako magmamakaawa sa kanya para sumali. He said "no" once. Him saying that same "no" twice would humiliating on my part.

"Wala kasi akong makitang point kung bakit dapat akong sumali sa club n'yo," paliwanag niya kahit hindi ko hinihingi. "We are enjoying peace in this school. There's no need for detective wannabes... unlike a few years ago when there were cases almost every day."

I shouldn't feel insulted when he said the "wannabes." Why? Because I wasn't a detective in the first place! Nag-e-effort akong mag-recruit dahil ayaw kong mawalan ako ng tambayan. If it weren't for that reason, I wouldn't be here anyway.

"Good luck on your recruitment!" he waved his right hand as he turned his back on me, walking away from our booth. Tatandaan ko ang araw na sinabi niyang "no." Kapag kinailangan niya ang tulong ng QED Club, I would also say "no." He'd better hope that day wouldn't come.

Ten minutes passed, but not a single student went to our booth. Dinadaan-daanan lang nila ako na parang palamuti sa paligid. May ilang hihinto sa harapan, pero maya-maya'y lilipat sa kabilang booth. Clyde's words about my plan not working echoed in my mind. He was sort of right.

Sa halip na enjoy-in ko ang aking excused hours mula sa klase, mas na-stress pa ako. If worse comes to worst, I would bribe some of these passersby to register in our club. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so they say.

"Did someone sign up?" Sa wakas, nakabalik na rin si Charlotte, dala-dala ang tatlong canned tomato juice na nakasupot. What took her so long? Hindi naman siguro niya binili 'yon sa supermarket na nasa labas ng campus.

Ipinakita ko sa kanya ang walang sulat na papel na nakapatong sa mesa namin. "Ganito na karami ang interesadong sumali sa club."

Kumunot ang kanyang noo at bahagyang napataas ang kaliwang kilay. "Where are the names?"

Hindi ba niya na-gets ang joke ko? Gano'n ba ka-slow ang utak niya? "Wala pa ni isang nag-sign up sa atin."

Every glimmer of joy on her face vanished and her eyes spoke that she was losing hope. Kapag may nakikita akong taong nalulugmok sa kumunoy ng kalungkutan, mas nagagalak akong makita ang kanyang pagdurusa. Pero bakit kay Charlotte, tila naawa ako?

One of my golden rules as an anti-hero was to be devoid of any emotion in front of people. I read many fictional characters who met their end because of the so-called "change of hearts." Nangako ako sa sarili ko na hindi ako magiging tulad nila.

But Charlotte's strong. Pinilit niyang ngumiti sabay sabing, "Our list may be blank right now, but it will be filled with names later! Basta ma-execute natin nang maayos ang gimik mamaya. Should we already prepare for it?"

That's the spirit. Wala akong nagawa kundi tumango sa kanya. Hindi rin ako sigurado kung gaano ka-effective ang plano namin para makahakot ng mga member. My Plan A seemed to have failed so my fingers were crossed that the same wouldn't happen to my Plan B.

Muli akong sumilip sa phone ko at tiningnan ang oras. Mag-aalas-otso na ng umaga. The time has come for us to make our move. This would be an all-or-nothing game.

"Bale ang una nating gagawin ay maghahanap ng spot kung saan ka pwedeng magpatay-patayan." Lumingon-lingon ako sa malapit na damuhan. The field of grass was still moist from the rain early this morning. "Handa ka bang madumihan para sa tr—"

"Good morning, students of Clark High! Are we late for the party?

All heads turned to the speakers installed on the posts around the open area. The energetic voice of whoever spoke rang in our ears. Natigil ang lahat sa kani-kanilang ginagawa, nagtataka kung sino ang nagsasalita at kung para saan ang biglaang announcement.

"You may not have any idea on who we are, so we'd like to introduce ourselves in the most memorable way. We are the K-OS Club, and we are here to spice up this boring club fair!"

"K-K-OS Club!" Charlotte glanced at me with eyes widened in surprise. "Sila ang nanggulo sa arrangement ng mga club advertisement sa bulletin board noong isang araw, 'di ba?"

As I expected, magpaparamdam ang mga mokong sa club fair. Balak ba nilang agawin ang spotlight sa amin? Kung may pinaplano silang pasabog, tiyak na sa kanila mapupunta ang atensyon ng lahat at hindi sa "play dead" trick namin ni Charlotte.

Almost everyone was confused as to what that rogue club was up to. I had a bad feeling about them saying that they would "spice up" this event. Pakiramdam ko'y hindi lang panggugulo ng bulletin board ang kaya nilang gawin. That was just an appetizer. This might be the main dish.

"We love creating chaos as much as we love parties! So we have a gift for everyone here!"

Sa lahat siguro ng mga regalong puwede naming tanggapin, mukhang ito ang hindi namin magugustuhan. Ano bang dapat asahan sa isang unofficial club na walang gustong gawin kundi magbigay ng sakit ng ulo? They were up to no good.

"Sa booth ng Chemistry Society, may iniwan kaming package na siguradong magugustuhan ng mga member nito. Kaunting paalala: mag-ingat sa paghawak at iwasang mahulog ito dahil baka... BOOM!"

Bo-Bomba? 'Yon ba ang regalo niya sa 'min? Talaga ngang may "pasabog" ang mga mang-aagaw-eksenang 'to. How dare they steal our spotlight?

Mabilis na kumilos ang mga estudyante sa katabing booth para i-confirm kung totoong may iniwang package ang K-OS Club. Kaagad nilang nahanap ang isang maliit na kahong selyado pa ng tape. Dali-dali itong binuksan para makita ang laman.

"BO-BOMBA!" sigaw ng lalaking may hawak sa nasabing kahon. Nanginginig ang kanyang baba at tumatagaktak ang pawis habang nakatitig sa regalo.

"Shall we play a game? We will give you fifteen minutes—oops—fourteen minutes and fourty-eight seconds to defuse that bomb. Once the timer reaches zero, you know what would happen! Hi-hi-hi!"

Daig pa niya ang demonyo kung tumawa kaya lalong nag-panic ang mga estudyante. Ang ilan sa kanila'y mabilis na tumakbo palayo sa mga booth, umaasang hindi sila maaabutan ng pagsabog ng bomba. Bago pa man sila tuluyang makalayo, may puting usok na lumabas mula sa malambot na lupa ng open area. Nabulilyaso tuloy ang balak nilang pagtakas.

"To make things more exciting, we planted landmines around the area so escaping is no longer an option. The white smoke is just a warning. The next time you step on them... BOOM! No one leaves until the party is over!"

Walang nagawa ang mga estudyante kundi bumalik sa mga booth sa takot na baka may matapakan silang bomba. The K-OS Club prepared their own brand of party for everyone here.

"Don't worry! There are clues left for those who are courageous enough to try to defuse the bomb. Best of luck because you are gonna need it!"

Kumapit sa kaliwang braso ko ang mga nanginginig na kamay ni Charlotte. Students at the nearby booths couldn't shake off the fear caused by the package. Ako lang yata ang kalmado sa sitwasyong 'to.

"Wh-What should we do now?" Lalo pa niyang hinigpitan ang pagkakahawak sa 'kin na parang ayaw na niya akong pakawalan. Ganito ang eksena kapag pumasok sa isang horror house ang magkasintahan at takot na takot 'yung babae.

Beads of sweat rolled down my cheeks. Hindi ako komportable na may babaeng masyadong malapit sa 'kin. Lagi kasi nila akong nilalayuan kaya nasanay na ang katawan ko sa gano'ng set-up. I wanted to take her hands off my arm, pero hinayaan ko na lang.

Maingat na inilapag ng mga taga-Chemistry Society ang bomba sa mesa. Habang nanginginig ang mga tuhod nila sa kabang baka sumabog 'yon, ako nama'y nakangiti nang may ideyang sumagi sa isip ko.

"Madam President, mukhang hindi na natin kailangang ituloy ang binabalak nating performance," hininaan ko ang aking boses para hindi marinig ng mga estudyanteng nasa paligid namin.

"What do you mean?" nagtatakang tanong niya. "We are not yet going to die, are we?"

My eyes rolled. That would be true if the bomb was to explode. "I heard that during the time of our predecessors in the club, whenever students in this school were in trouble, they always turned to them for help, right?"

Charlotte nodded. "They were the problem solvers. They were the go-to experts. Why?"

I smirked. "The school needs us. The students need the QED Club again. And this case is going to be our comeback. Oras na para magpakitang-gilas tayo."

q.e.d.