CHAPTER FOUR + 0 comment(s)
Chapter Four
“What do you think?” He asked her while he tries to hide her
by cornering her. Her eyes were focused on his newly polished shoes. He craned
his neck down to look at her, adjusting due the gap of their height. She threw
out her arms towards his torso and whispered her gratitude.
“Well, that’s all I want to know, Gertrude.”
He held her arms away from his body and patted her head
before walking away. He checked his watch and fixed his collar as he walks
towards the empty halls. He could see that the skies were still bruised in
color through the large glass windows across the lockers. He was in the right
time wherein he can seek peace from a place designed for thousands of
teenagers.
He could order a tea in the rooftop canteen but that would
take out necessary time for silent action. His steps became slow as he narrowed
towards the maroon door. A gush of cold air greeted him as he opened the door.
A man was standing near the jalousie windows, his hands were on his pockets.
Even behind, Ezekiel could easily see that he was in his thirties from the
growing baldness obvious on his head.
He took a step minute by minute, trying to land each step
with silence. He eyed the man’s appearance as he goes closer to him. The man
stood straight and had broad shoulders. He could see that this man was deep in
thought while watching the bruised colored skies fading as brightness overcomes.
Ezekiel paused from taking another step when the man decided
to turn around. Ezekiel was right on his assumption. The man was his uncle Ben
Stratford, the other teacher in his grade who teaches Math.
“What brings you here, Zeke?” Ben asked, astonished by his
sudden appearance. Ezekiel looked at Ben’s irises and didn’t respond. Ben
furrowed his eyebrows and placed his hands on his hips while he waits for
Ezekiel’s answer.
Ezekiel blinked a few times and thought of any phrase to
save the moment. He didn’t want him to know or doubt about his intent. He
grabbed an armchair and pulled it closer to his back. He sat down and buried
his face with his palms.
“I’ve got a problem, Ben. You can’t tell Mom and Dad,” he
cried and sniffled air out from his nostrils.
Ben scratched his neck and sighed. He looked at the time on
his wrist watch and sighed again.
“Perhaps, the teacher I’m going to meet is absent for the
day. We could talk about this now. Inform me when you come to me next time.”
And by ‘teacher’ you
mean ‘student’ Ezekiel thought and pressed his lips together, trying not to
smirk out of the blue.
“Ben, I’m ga-“
Ezekiel turned around as the door squeaks and reveal
Gertrude Angstrom standing. Ben’s lips spread out with a grin, he patted
Ezekiel’s shoulder continuously and clicked his tongue. Ezekiel furrowed his
eyebrows and gritted his teeth. Stupid Gertrude was ruining his plan.
“BEN, I REALLY NEED TO TALK RIGHT NOW,” Ezekiel shouted and
stood up. He raised his palm towards Gertrude, signaling her not to go in.
“Sir, he knows about it and I think this should be stopped,”
Gertrude blurted out. Ben exchanged glances from the two repeatedly, trying to
suppress what was happening. He pressed his lips together and pointed at the
door.
“Stay away from my sight, the two of you. We’ll talk after
my last class.” He said silently as he crumples his trembling fist and looks
down on his feet.
Ezekiel stormed away from the room and intentionally bumped
her. His first plan was ruined just because of some innocent little idiot. He
walked through the locker halls and unlike earlier, it was already packed with
a few students rummaging on their lockers. Some turned their heads to greet him
hello but he decided to ignore them. Triantillegence posters were placed
everywhere and some were on the floor. He stepped on one of it and picked it
up, although he knew everything about it and he was already a part of it.
Hopefully he was going to achieve it for everyone.
We are smarter than
everyone else remember?
He covered his ears with his palms and turned around but all
he could see were random students interacting and fooling around with each other.
You told me that we
could stomp them with our wit
He grabbed his hair and pulled it, trying to cease the
developing headache. He continued to walk and rubbed his neck. He was getting
insane as the days go by. Hearing a voice from a younger version of a friend
wasn’t helping. He looked at the poster he was holding and thought of an idea.
“Young Sylvia, you are definitely right,” he murmured and
smirked.
-
1:00 AM was the time for the participants meeting of the
event. The conference room was cold and huge. The walls were pearl white and
the floor were tiled with marble. It had a big circular marble table on the
center with corresponding marble chairs that each participant occupied. On the
sides were cabinets and whiteboards.
Other than the recent participants, Felicity Van Dorschner
was also present in the room, barely expressing an emotion or focusing to
anything at the moment.
“What are we waiting for?” Felix Matthews asked, his chin
buried on his palm.
Felicity’s eyes stopped from staring at her own hands and
darted to Felix and narrowed slowly.
“Valentine Nishikawa isn’t here, we have to wait for her,”
she replied monotonously and stared right through his eyes.
Sylvia sat beside Felicity awkwardly and silently with a
fixed posture. Ezekiel eyed her carefully and tried not to chuckle for her
situation. Gertrude was wiping sweat off her hands towards her long maroon
skirt. Wren Oaks was scribbling random words on his notebook. The door opened
after a few minutes came, heads turned to see the person who came in.
A girl with long dark raven hair and brown small eyes came
in. She smiled as she walked closer to a seat like a pageant contestant. Sylvia
raised her eyebrows and looked at her from her head to her feet. Felicity stood
up as soon as Valentine sat down. Everyone stared at her as she stares back and
give them a feeling of uneasiness.
“Now that we’re complete, all I need are ears from all.
Being chosen to be in here isn’t easy, you have to prove that you’re worthy to
be chosen up there than the other students sitting beside or across you. We
only rely to your wit, health and reputation. If by the month, we could see
something not prohibited to your records or by behavior then I’m afraid you’ll
be out before you even think. We’ll be meeting every Saturday at the testing
office. Every result is very crucial so I suggest you-“
Felicity turned her head to the right and eyed Felix
Matthews who was busy doodling on his notebook. Sylvia cleared her throat
loudly with intention. Felix immediately felt the attention and hid his
notebook on his pocket. Valentine chuckled and clicked her tongue for a tease.
“I suggest that your presence should always be there because
absence is considered a minus. By the end of the month, we’ll be distributing
the results in the main hall at an assembly. The two highest markers will be
scheduled to duel with another examination and a very important interview,”
Felicity continued.
Ezekiel’s eyes darted directly to Sylvia’s, they were both
twinkling with a trickling idea. “Later at café,”
Ezekiel mouthed to her. Gertrude raised her palm and murmured a word.
“I didn’t know there was something vague about what I said,
Miss Angstrom. I made it very clear for all of you so questions wouldn’t be
necessary.” Felicity sternly remarked, her eyes focusing to the papers she
unfolded on the table.
“I believe that everything else will be a surprise now and I
hope that all of you may have luck towards the process of The Picking. Please
fill this form up and submit it to the registrar’s office after.”
The participants
grabbed their pens and scribbled their information on the forms quietly. They
left shortly after doing so. Sylvia, Ezekiel and Gertrude immediately went to
Mr. Stratford’s math class. Heads rose as they appeared on the doorway and
excused their tardiness. Students were having their pop quiz. Ben Stratford
gave them their papers and assigned them to sit on the three remaining seats
that were placed beside each other.
Ezekiel stared at the blank space instead of answering the
numbers. Gertrude’s pen was stuck on writing a period instead of number zero.
Unlike the two of them, Sylvia was covering her paper from the boy who sat on
her left side.
Five students were already passing their papers and leaving
the room. Ben sat on his desk, his arms folded together towards his chest, his
eyes darting on Ezekiel and Gertrude who sat beside each other. He could see
their eyes showing a fading interest from his subject.
Seven more students stood up, walked closer to him and
passed their papers. Each minute, the people inside the room was diminishing
but Gertrude and Ezekiel sat and stared on their papers as if it was blank and
there was nothing to do with it.
Sylvia finished her paper and glanced on Ezekiel with
curiosity. Her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth twisted. What’s wrong with you? She
thought. After waiting for a few moments for a change of movement from Ezekiel,
she decided to leave him for it was already dragging her. As she walked closer
to the doorway to leave, she turned her head around and glanced again but then
nothing changed to spark up an interest to stay.
She waited for him outside the classroom diligently but
impatience came to irritate her. She approached the doorway again but was
surprised when the door was shut closed as she goes closer to it. She gritted
her teeth and slapped her palm on the door out of annoyance. She slid her hand
down on her pocket and grabbed her phone. She speed dialed her new friend - #3:
Pawn Redhead.
“I need you to drop a recorder on Room 256 right now.
Whatever you are doing should be stopped for this,” she commanded.
-