THE ACADEMY

"Hey! I'm serious ha! Kamukha niya talaga ang kuya ko!" sigaw ko habang nakasunod sa likod nila.

Hindi naman nila ako tinapunan ng tingin. I pouted and rolled my eyes. 'Pag sila hindi ko pinansin, hmp! Humalukipkip nalang ako, then I looked around the hallway that we're walking at.

It looks like a normal school? Parang wala namang kakaiba sa school na 'to, ah. At saka hindi ko alam kung s'an kami pupunta, sumusunod lang ako. Libre raw eh, aangal pa ba ako?

Tiningnan ko ang likod n'ong Nico. Kung titingnan sa likod, medyo hindi niya kamukha si Kuya. Is it really possible that my brother has a real family here?

Awit sa'kin, hindi ko pa nahahanap biological family ko!

Finally, after a long walk, we stopped by a big door. I looked up and read the sign, 'President's office.'

The K.A. Zephyrus boy knocked. Pero I'm nagtataka kasi summer sa Earth, then dito may pasok? Omg! Wala bang sembreaks here? Hindi ko ata kaya 'pag gan'on.

Awtomatiko namang nagbukas ang pinto. Nanliit ang mata ko nang mapansing sobrang normal lang ng paligid. Akala ko kapag mga fantasy schools, cool at magical! Gosh, na-disappoint ako ng slight, ah. Then puro pa white ang paligid. Halos lahat ata ng gamit white rin, eh.

They entered, and I entered too. Alangang maiwan ako sa labas, 'di ba? Napansin ko namang may nakaupo r'on sa nakatalikod na white swivel chair.

I looked around, and kahit pala rito may camera! Bigla akong na-conscious kaya napaayos ako ng buhok. Umupo naman sa puting upuan ang dalawang lalaki, at minuwestra ni Kaiden na tumabi ako sa kaniya.

Hindi pa ako nakakaupo, biglang humarap ang President. Napatalon tuloy ako at madaling umupo sa tabi n'ong Kaiden. May hiya naman pala ako kahit papaano.

The President looked friendly and young, and I suppose he's in his thirties. His gaze immediately went to me, and he raised one eyebrow.

He turned to Kaiden. "Is she the one who trespassed, Kaiden?" tanong niya. Tumango naman si Kaiden.

Bakit ba kasi trespasser ang tawag? Hindi ba pwedeng naligaw lang?

"I believe you have watched the clip, Sir. We'd like to keep her in the academy for the time being."

"Miss Exiquel Four Bellisima, you've mentioned that your brother looks like Nicolas. How come?" tanong ng Presidente sa'kin.

Napalunok naman ako, "Uh... Opo? But my brother is thinner than him, and he's blind! His hair is pure black without weird silver streaks."

"Did you just call my hair weird?" mahinang singhal sa'kin ni Nicolas.

I looked at him with confusion. "Ay, nasabi ko ba 'yon?"

He scoffed and laughed sarcastically. Hindi ko na naman siya pinatulan, at binalik ang tingin sa Presidente.

"We will do our best to search for your brother. While we do, please enjoy the time you'll be spending in the Orphic Academy. Kaiden and Nicolas will-"

"Ayoko, Pres," sabay nilang giit.

Napakurap-kurap naman ako dahil d'on. Tumawa ang Presidente, at tila tuwang-tuwa sa'ming tatlo.

"Go now. You still have a lot to explain to her," ani ng President. Tiningnan ko ang pangalan niya r'on sa table niya. Ephraim Arquaile.

Padabog silang tumayo at tahimik nalang akong sumunod. Kaiden got something from his pocket, then he abruptly faced me and lend the object in his hand.

"Oh, ano 'yan?" tanong ko.

Binuksan niya ang white na lalagyan- fuschia naman, lahat ata white rito- at d'on ko nakita ang contact lenses na weird tingnan.

"Bakit? Malinaw naman mata ko, ah?"

Nicolas sighed, "The contact lenses is a must for the Academy. This was built for Orpheuses, what students are called, to unlock our vision."

Ha? Unlock our vision? Kinuha ko naman ang contact lenses, at nilagay 'yon sa mata ko. Pumikit ako nang napansing parang may nag-giglitch sa paligid.

When I opened my eyes, I was astonished by the surroundings. Wowie! Hindi naman pala puro white ang paligid! May mga linya at disenyo ang bawat walls. This actually looked like a science world! Kahit ang suot nila, sobrang angas, men!

Ba't parang biglang nag-iba ang lahat n'ong makapagsuot ako ng contact lenses?

"Hindi na kailangang tanggalin ang contact lenses kahit sa pagtulog o pagligo," Kaiden said. My mouth formed an 'o'.

"Sinadyang gumawa ng smart contact lenses para hindi makita ng iba kung anong dapat tayong mga Orpheuses lang ang makakita. That is why you should never remove it," Nicolas explained.

Once again, tumingin ako sa paligid at napansin kong mayroon ding mga flying drones. Napatingin ako sa bintana, at doon ko nakita ang kabilang wing ng building.

It really looked techy, but at the same time, magical! May mga estudyanteng nalipad, nagpapalabas ng apoy, tubig o kung ano man. Mayroon din namang taong parang robotic ang kamay! Woah.

Napatingin naman ako sa braso ko nang parang may biglang kakaiba akong naramdaman d'on. A watch. Lol, smart watch din ata 'to!

"How about this? What is this for?"

"That is for messaging purposes, of course. Only those who you give access to your smart watch can contact you," si Kaiden naman ngayon ang nag-explain.

Hinablot niya ang kamay ko, at may pinindot sa smart watch. Then biglang may symbols na nag-appear mula sa watch ko. Tapos may picture ko pa sa gitna! It looked like the watch can generate holograms.

"This is your QR code, or the quick response code. You should only show it to your friends or to us. Hindi mo dapat 'to ibabalandra sa lahat," paalala niya.

Sa relo naman niya siya pumindot ng kung ano, then he raised his hand in front of my QR Code. After a while, something inside my head beeped. The heck? Ano 'yon?

"Kaiden Alegrius Zephyrus is now one of your contacts!" A robotic voice inside my head say. Tumingin naman ako sa kanila para tingnan kung narinig nila 'yon.

Nicolas smirked, "The voices inside your head comes from the watch. It is linked to you now. You will hear that robotic voice from now on. It will also tell you if there is an emergency or danger, or if you are missing classes."

I let out a long 'oh.'

"Don't worry, you can remove that watch whenever you feel like to, but I suggest that you don't," Nicolas explained.

Si Nicolas naman ngayon ang tumaas ng kamay at isang beep na naman ang narinig ko. Nakakagulat, ah!

"Nicolas Valentino is now one of your contacts!"

"Please don't pester us, Bellisima." Hala! Ako pa talaga ang pester! Sila naman pesticides, hmp.

"What should we call you, anyways?" tanong nila.

I scrunched my nose, "Four. That is what my brother calls me."

"Well, Four. Welcome to Orphic Academy."

The Orphic Secret
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Siguro ngayon, mapapansin niyo na medyo science-fiction nga s'ya hehe.

You can take a screenshot of the QR Code, and scan niyo, preferably sa Twitter, for a short message from Four ♡ hindi naman required lol.

Thank you for reading!