Mermaid Blues: Beasts, Giants and Spirits

The Ruckus

"This is it, Seline..." she told herself. She is standing by the gate entrance of the Horizon Reached University. She's nervously looking at the gate while wondering what it looks like inside.

"You are already here at last. Don't turn back. This is your dream."

While still enjoying the view from the gate, someone's shoulder suddenly bumped into her shoulder. She got startled by it at the same time. Her eyes immediately fixed on the culprit who was passing by. She realized that it was Seyhan.

Seyhan was glancing at the back as he moves away. "See you later, sucker!" he taunted. He then enters the gate.

Seline creased her nose. She looked at the young master with stern. "You sicko!" she muttered. Then, she hurriedly walked past the gate. She was now greeted by the wide grassland. She tried to look for him amongst the students around her but she failed. Seyhan walks faster than she thought.

***Blue Water****

Grace Joy was in the corridor on the second floor of the Acosta-Monte Building. She was on her way to the room where she auditioned for the Glee Club. It felt weird for her since the number of people in that corridor was less. Maybe there were only ten or twenty people she saw passing through and standing by. She was already thirty meters away from the wide room when...

"Grace!" Someone suddenly called.

She turned around to see who called her name. It is her classmate, Flora.

"Flora." She made a broad smile.

"Are you going to Glee Club?" Flora asked.

"Oo(Yeah)," she answered. "Are you also a member?"

"Yeah, I am," Flora answered with excitement.

"Really?" Grace Joy was surprised and also happy.

"In fact, I was the girl behind you during the audition"

"What?" Grace was surprised further. "Oh my God! I didn't recognize you."

"That's okay. I didn't even recognize you. But when I heard you sing on that stage, I realized that it was really you. Your voice has gotten better," Flora praised. "What song did you sing again?"

"'Your Song' by Parokya ni Edgar," Grace answered.

"Woah. The way you sang the song seemed like you were auditioning for The Voice."

"Ohus!" Grace refused to take her praise seriously, she was thinking that Flora is just teasing her. "But thanks."

"You did a good rendition of the song."

While they were talking as they were walking slowly, they suddenly heard a loud noise coming from a nearby room. They can hear girls screaming, deep voices yelling like they're arguing, and loud banging noises. Not only that, it seemed that they knew where the noise seemed to come from. The girls looked at each other and their faces were painted with shocked expressions.

They immediately ran towards the Glee Room. Just when they arrived at the entrance, they immediately saw a lot of students inside. They were so loud that it seemed like there were people arguing. They went in. To their surprise, they saw two groups of people. One group was standing on the left side of the room and they were facing the opposing group. Some students circled them around, watching them yell at each other as they threw spicy words at each other. The others were murmuring.

Flora and Grace Joy blend into the crowd. When they successfully got through the wall of students, they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

A group of familiar members of the Glee Club was on the left side while the other group of guys, who seemed egotistic, were facing them with a sneer on their faces. The Glee group glared at them and their fists clenched, eager to smack them already.

"What is happening here?" Flora asked with the lowest of her tone.

"I don't know..." Grace Joy also had no clue. "But I think this is bad."

"Argh! It's early in the morning. Why can't I walk around this school in peace?" Flora complained.

:::::::::::

Sherdel and his friends were walking along the corridor of the second floor of the Acosta-Monte Building. He was in the lead while his three friends were following him. Those three friends are Daniel, Franz, and West. They are slowly walking along the corridor, never knowing that in the next hundred steps, there will be an unexpected event that will ruin the start of their day.

They were talking about Franz's love life then. Franz had just broken up with his girlfriend, so it was a hot topic for his peers. Sherdel is on the lead, he is not reacting to whatever they are saying. It's like he ignores them. He doesn't laugh whenever Daniel cracks jokes. He doesn't comment on whatever West says. He's got no interest in Franz's love life.

"I cannot believe that you and Cheska broke up," West said.

"Dude. It's right that she broke up with you," Daniel commented. "I didn't like her for you anyway.

"Wow!" Franz reacted. "From what I can remember. You are the one who pushes me to court her."

He beat his lips after he heard what Franz had said to him. He ate what he said.

"I told you to never trust Daniel," West said. "Don't get any advice from that womanizer."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Daniel denied.

"Really? If you are not a womanizer, how many women have you courted?"

"Twenty," he answered with hesitation. The numbers may be more than what he said.

"While you are still in a relationship?" West added mockingly.

"Son of a b***h!" Daniel punched him gently in the arm.

West is laughing. West was about to say something, and they heard some loud noises.

"What's that?" Sherdel wondered. Even his friends. They began to try tracking the origin of the noise with their ears.

"I think it's coming over there," Daniel pointed to the room just some distance away from them. It was the only room in that corridor where the door was open.

"Let's see!", curious West suggested, and he rushed towards the room. Sherdel and the other two friends followed him afterward.

:::::::::::::

There are two groups facing each other. One group is composed of the Glee club members, while on the other hand are Severine Alhibing and his loyal peers.

"Tell me, how egotistic are you?" Eliza, the leader of the Glee Club, told the group of boys who were in front of them. She was so angry. Her hands crossed across her chest, clenching her fist as she tried to contain her temper.

"So what?" Severine responded. "One of your friends bumped me."

"You beat him up! AGAIN!" She yelled. "He just bumped you unintentionally but you have beaten him like he wants to kill you. Are you dumb? Normal people don't do that."

"You are monsters!" Everyone on Eliza's side reacted.

"OO NGA! (Yeah)" Some seconded.

Severine scoffed. He glanced at his peers at the back. His peers chuckled while he was doing so.

"You do not know your place, don't you?"

"Say what?" Lyka reacted. "To be honest with you, we don't know what you are saying."

"Don't poke your nose here, b***h," a boy from Severine's side yelled.

Lyka was about to open her mouth and speak but Eliza suddenly spoke.

"He is right," Eliza looked at her. "Like what they say, 'Don't talk back with the elderly.'"

"He might be older but his brain hasn't matured," she added.

Grace and Flora, along with the students, hid their laughs.

"Ahh... is that so?" Severine bit his lips. "I would like to remind you that the owner of this school is my grandfather."

"And so?" Eliza drew near to Severine. She squinted her eyes while she focused them on his eyes. "Do you think I am scared of you, Mr. Severine Alhibing?"

"OOOWW!" the boys behind him whined.

"Respect me," he told her.

"I will never respect an egotistic garbage like you, Alhibing," she said back. "Just say sorry to the person who you beat up. That's just our request from you."

"Never," he shook his head.

"You son of a b***h!" A boy from Eliza's group commented."Let's get it on!" He charged, then followed by the others.

"Wait! Wait! WAIT!" Eliza yelled at her fellow group mates. They became stubborn because they didn't listen to her. They are so angry that they wanted to kill him and his peers.

Severin's friends took action. They also stepped forward and attacked.

:::::::

While running, Sherdelino's friend, West, who is running before him, suddenly bumps someone who is walking in the opposite direction they're heading in. And so, Sherdel, Daniel, and Franz, who are running after West, halted.

To their surprise, they widened their eyes when they saw the person whom their friend collided with. It was Gregory. With him are his friends. Gregory and his friends are all enemies of Sherdelino, even Daniel and Franz hate how egotistic they are. Gregory was also surprised to see his foe. He looked at Sherdel with an annoying smirk, then he looked at the person who bumped him.

"You b***h!" he yelled.

"Ay wow!" West exclaimed with surprise.

"Gregory!" Sherdel yelled, showing him his irritating smile. He still looks cute though. They drew near them. West, who bumped Greg, took a step backward to get to his friends. Then, they make a parallel line - one line is Sherdel and his friends and the opposite is Gregory and his friend's line. They began exchanging irritating expressions.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sherdel asked with a serious tone in his voice.

"I was supposed to tell you that," Greg talked back.

They both looked at the entrance of the noisy room facing them.

"You want us to do that right now too?" Greg asked.

Sherdel scoffed.

"There you go again. You know what, if you have someplace to go, then proceed, will you?"

"Nothing anymore. I just saw you, and I have a feeling I'm gonna crush you today."

Gregory's peers nodded except one. He is the simpleton of the group. His name is Freddie. "Huh? I thought we were going to the plaza?" he was surprised.

"Shut up, Freddie!" Gregory pointed at him.

"Oh. That's that," Sherdel reacted. Then he passed him. His friends also passed through the wall of Gregory's peers.

But Gregory turned around and grabbed Sherdel's shoulder.

"We are not done yet, tabachoy."

Sherdel turned around to face him.

"What did you say?" his eyes darkened.

"Taba(fat)! Taba(fat)! Taba!"

"Hoy!" Sherdel yelled. He looked down to examine his body. After that, he looked at Gregory.

"I am not tabachoy anymore!" he shouted at him.

"Once a tabachoy, always a tabachoy!"

"You are jealous of me because you are just bones and skin but never fly."

"What did you say?" Gregory got pissed.

"You heard me, right? Eat plenty so that your body can at least have decency."

"Agreed," Sherdel's peers reacted.

"You might not be as fat as you once were. You still look like a pig," Gregory said.

"Why won't you fill in your stomach before thinking of your abs? Or maybe, fill in your brain instead."

Gregory suddenly pushed Sherdel away after he heard what he said.

"Ops! Stony stones in the sky. If you get hit, don't get angry." Sherdel scowled at him before he turned around. Gregory clenched his fist. He was trying to contain his temper while staring at him and walking away.

"Let's go, brad," one of Gregory's friends suggested.

"We are not done yet, Alhibing!"

Gregory turned around. Then they walked away.

:::::::::::::::

Everyone is going bananas. Some boys and girls were brave enough to try and stop the students at war.

One student grabbed one of Severine's friend's n*****s and tightened his grip in order for him to feel the pain. Then, one girl came and punched his face. Another girl punched him also, followed by other three girls who approached and pulled his hair.

"This is for molesting me!" one of the girls said.

One of Severine's friends had already beaten up two angry boys. A boy behind him wrapped his arms around each of his shoulders, trying to restrain him from hurting another member of the club.

At the entrance, Sherdel and his friends had already arrived. They get surprised when they see people fighting and wreaking havoc. The mess is everywhere. Girls are screaming, boys are shouting, saying "stop".

They got more surprised when they recognized one of Severine's friends in the distance. He was lying face down on the floor. On top of him is a chubby boy sitting on his back.

"Isn't that your brother's friend?" Franz asked.

"Ouch!" they reacted.

They took their eyes away, then they looked around to see if Severine was also on the scene. Fortunately, they found him. He was being strangled by an angry Glee Club member. Severine grabbed the boy's hands, trying to loosen his grip.

"Dude!" West looked at Sherdel in horror. He was worried about what might happen to Severine. "Aren't you going to help him?"

Sherdel didn't respond. He is just watching his brother struggling to breathe.

"They are not going to kill him anyway," Daniel answered.

On the other hand...

"Go to the faculty, now. Find Ms. Maginoo in there. She is our adviser. Go.," Eliza instructed, just when she found Grace Joy and Flora.

"Opo," they immediately responded. Then they immediately left her and headed towards the exit. Eliza continued to help the others to stop the rampage.

::::::::::

"Let's hurry!" Flora said. They kept on saying 'excuse me', hoping that everyone in the crowd would give them space to cross. Instead, they were being pushed and pulled. Everybody in the crowd kept on moving. No one wants to make a path. They've got no choice but to squeeze themselves into it. Despite that, they couldn't breathe.

When they finally got out of the wall of students. They immediately caught some air to fill their lungs. After that, they focused their eyes on the entrance.

In the distance, Grace was surprised to see Sherdel standing, blocking the entrance. Grace slowly pants while looking at him. Sherdel hadn't noticed her yet, since his eyes were focused only on his suffering brother.

"Let's go!" Flora poked Grace's back with her point finger just when she finally felt refreshed.

Grace looked at her and nodded. Then, they continue to run.

Sherdel is still looking at his brother. Meanwhile, Grace Joy and Flora are approaching as fast as they can. He got startled when there was a girl who passed through them without noticing. He looked at the next girl who was about to pass through. He immediately recognizes that it is Grace Joy. He focused his eyes on her eyes and she focused her eyes on his eyes. As she passed, she collided her left shoulder against his right arm. She looked forward then, just when she got out of the room. Sherdel looked down to the floor after she'd gone off his sight. He was reflecting on the feeling that he felt the moment their eyes met. He felt that his heart raced faster. He had never felt that feeling before. It just happened for a second, but it felt good.

:::::::::

The teachers suddenly got startled when they suddenly saw two girls enter their office. They were wondering why they seemed startled.

"Is Ma'am Maginoo here?" Flora immediately asked someone.

"She's not here. She had already headed to Strawberry Hall. Is there a problem?" One of the teachers asked. He stood up.

"We need help. There is a ruckus happening in Strawberry Hall right now," Grace said.

"What?" they suddenly freaked out.

"The Strawberry Hall. Are you sure?"

"Yes, Sir," Grace and Flora replied.

"Let's go. Hurry!"

The teachers, especially the males, immediately got their asses up from their seats. The two girls immediately went out of the room to head back to Strawberry Hall. The teachers followed them.

::::::::::::

"Let's get out of here," Sherdel suggests. His peers seconded.

Suddenly, a woman passed through them and entered the room.

"Wait. That woman seems familiar," West, one of his peers, was trying to recognize the teacher.

"Huh?" Sherdel wondered. Then he looked at her walking towards the center of the crowd.

"Of course, she's familiar. She's a teacher, all right."

Every student who sees her passing through, and stops, froze like a statue.

"I got it. That's Ms. Maginoo." He finally remembered. "'The one who they call 'General Maginoo'".

Sherdel, along with his peers, looks at him. Their eyes widened, wondering why a woman who looked so kind was being called such a weird nickname.

"General Maginoo?" They look at her.

She finally found Eliza having a piggyback ride on Severine's back. Severine kept on swaying his body from side to side so that he could get her off his back, but Eliza didn't allow herself to fall down. Eliza, with her right hand, was beating her head with a book. Her left hand was wrapped around his neck.

"You bad bad bad piece of garbage. You deserve this!" she keeps on saying.

"Aw! Hey, get off me, b***h! Aw!" he complained.

Ms. Maginoo was watching them. Her facial expression was blank. It cannot be determined whether she was angry, shocked, disappointed, or enjoying.

"Eliza?" she softly spoke.

Eliza froze after she recognized her voice.

She looked in the direction where her voice came from. She was right. It was their club adviser, Ms. Maginoo. Immediately, she put herself down from Severine's back.

"Ma'am!" she chuckled nervously. "You are already here."

"Oh no. I'm not," she raised her voice.

She pulled one of Severine's peers who was about to hit someone with his hard clenched fist. She hit his stomach with her knee. He put his hands together at the part where her knee landed as he moaned in pain.

Everyone gasped. They froze and paused their fight. The boys at the entrance were also shocked with horror.

Ms. Maginoo pushed the boy towards Severine. She went towards them afterward. She pinched both Eliza's ear and Severin's.

"Ahhw! Ma'am sorry! Aw. Aw," she yells in pain.

"AW!" Severine also yelled. "Get off of me. AW! Aw!"

Then she pulled them towards the exit. The students silently moved to the side to make way as she and they were about to pass.

"Let's go!" Sherdel told them. "Hurry!" He turned around. He walked away first, followed by his friends.

The teacher and the two students had already gotten out of Strawberry Hall. There, they met Grace and Flora, followed by the teachers.

"You're late," she told them.

They looked at the poor students with her. They were in pain. Finally, she released their poor ears from her pinch.

"Get them to the office," she said. "We'll also call those students in the hall."

:::::::::::::

It was already six in the evening when Ana arrived at their home. She opened the door. She was surprised when she saw Black coming. Black was still in their home? She thought Kendrick had already fetched him, brought him back into their home.

She crouched down. She stretched her arms wide, ready to accept Black's embrace. And so, when Black arrived, she caressed him, combing his fur with her fingers. "It's good that you are safe. How have you been? Do you miss your master Ken?" she baby talked.

Then, her mother appeared. She came from the kitchen. She was holding a pot of hot sinigang na bangus. Ana widened her eyes in surprise. She was looking at Ken who was standing next to her mother. He was handling a box of cake. While looking at the surprised expression on her face, Ken nodded with a smile. There goes that deep dimple appearing.

"Oh. You're here. Thank God, you came at the right time. We are going to eat dinner," Mrs. Cynthia Camilo told her daughter.

"Hi! I was not expecting you to come", Ana then told Ken.

Kendrick briefly raised the box of cake for her to see. "I came to say 'Thank you".

"How sweet," her mother commented. "You don't need to bring us cake just because we took care of your dog. Besides, that's too expensive."

"You might not know but..." Kendrick looked at Ana with gratitude in his eyes as he responded to Mrs. Cynthia's comment. "This cake is not enough to show my gratitude."

"Trust me. You making us feed your dog is just a small favor to ask from us," Cynthia retorted. "Anyway, let's go! My hands can feel the heat from this pot," she complained and invited at the same time.

::::::::::

"Thank heavens, you immediately texted Ana to go fetch Black from your home while you were away. When Kate came to your house, you and your brother already fled, so she just took him. The poor dog seemed like he haven't eaten for a day when she brought him here. He was whinning, begging to be fed," her mother told Kendrick.

However, that was just a made up story Ana told her mother. That fact that Ana already knew that Black was surely wasn't fed by his owners right when she found out they were caught and got isolated inside a chicken coup in Shilan. And so, she immediately contacted Kate, her big sister, to go check on the dog. She told Kate that Ken texted her, saying that he wants the Camilo family to take cae of Black while he and his brother was away. She was admitted inside the white room of the head quarters of the Cordilleran Marksmen then when she realized that the Rosales brothers have a dog.

Kendrick arched his back and smiled with embarassement. "I am sorry. It was already late when I remembered to text Ana to go check Black."

"Don't be a bad dog owner," Cynthia reminded. "Being a dog owner means thinking about the welfare of your pet all the time."

"This stew is delish!" Ana said while chewing. She took another spoonful into her mouth. She just wants to stray away from the topic.

"Eat slowly, dear. You'll choke," her mother warned.

"The sinigang is great."

"Really now? Is it your first time tasting my cooking?" Her mother was taunted.

While the two were enjoying their meal, they heard someone knocking on the door. They paused for a while.

He looked at Ana. He smiled. There go his deep dimples that make his face cuter. Ana smiled back.

"Thank you," he said.

"It's okay. Kate is the one who always likes pets. She's the one willing to take care of Black for you."

"Is that so?" he nodded. He smiled again. And he scooped up some rice on his plate, then mixed it with the Sinigang's broth. After that, he took a slice of milkfish.

"Any way. Kate was not able to have dinner with us. She's still at work," Cynthia informed. "That girl has so much love advice in her mind she wants an overtime."

"Mmmmm..." he reacted, delighted after he tasted it. "It's really good."

"See? I know you are gonna like my cooking!" Cynthia happily slammed the table with her palm when she saw the satisfaction on Kendrick's face.

Kendrick didn't respond. He was focusing on tasting the tasty sour flavor of the viand mixed with the rice. While he was chewing, Ana spoke.

"It's good that you came."

He swallowed the food.

"I can't wait to see Black, I really miss him," he said.

Ana smiled upon hearing what he'd said. Her mother was just silent, watching the two talking to each other.

"Sana all," she reacted. Then, she chuckled faintly.

Kendrick also chuckled. Then, he took another spoonful into his mouth.

"Seeing you love dogs, I bet you can't wait to see another day to meet your girlfriend?" she teased.

"Well, I hope so," he said. "I had a girlfriend once," he added.

"Oh. What happened?" she asked with her eyes filled with wonder.

"Let's say that her family hates me because she is two years older than me. Also, she was not able to defend me from anyone," he replied. He suddenly turned pale while saying those words.

Ana saw his reaction. She no longer asked after that. "Awww...that's cruel," she commented instead.

"How about you?" he asked. "Have you ever fallen in love? Do you have a boyfriend right now? Or a suitor?"

"I have a boyfriend...(she looks at her mother) once."

Ana's mother positioned her elbows on the table. She rests her head on her hands. She was getting more interested in the atmosphere between Ken and her daughter. She was smiling as she felt the romantic excitement she was getting from the two.

"What happened?" Kendrick asked.

"Let's say, things didn't work as planned for us. He...he betrayed me. I did not know that he was cheating on me, until I heard the news about the girl whom he cheated on me, who was carrying his baby."

Kendrick raised his lower lip and he nodded. He was quite intrigued by her story.

"I think that's worse than my breakup," he commented. "Although, I can't believe that the guy cheated on you and had a baby with another girl. You look gorgeous. How could he betray you like that? I am disappointed."

"You think you wouldn't do anything like that?" Ana asked.

Kendrick smiled brightly. He shook his head. "I don't think so. I never did that to my ex," he answered. "I would be an asshole."

"Wow," Ana silently chuckled.

There was silence for a while. Ken and Ana looked each other in the eyes as they awkwardly smiled at each other. Kendrick's heart suddenly raced faster. Ana had butterflies in her stomach. They can't explain what they were feeling at that moment. It's like time stopped and they felt like they were alone in that place.

"Okay, kids!" Ana's mother startled them.

"Let's enjoy the food, shall we?"

"Yeah. I can't argue with that," Kendrick replied. He looked at Ana again and smiled.

Ana smiled. Then she resumed eating.

"Kids these days. Thinking about their relationships first before the food. I pity the food," she commented