Above Heavens

Thirteenth Glitch

V A U G H N

West Burgos Street

That place I heard from my mom, never leave my mind. Gustong-gusto kong puntahan 'yon, but not now. I don’t want to add too much on my plate. I have my acads—sunud-sunod ang quizzes, may reporting pa sa isang major, nagse-self study ako about wires. Not just that, may minor subjects pa, may debate nga sa Ethics. And of course, those walking Sci-fi.

After all of these, I’ll go to that street and talk to my mom. I’ve never been there, but I have a gut feeling that she’s with her 'second man'. And probably with their child. I don’t want to stress out myself. It hurts seeing her acting like she doesn’t give a damn about me. But still, I’m genuinely happy that after five years, I saw her face. I'm not yet phoning my dad to talk about it.

“Lintik naman ba't kasi may pa gan'to pa!” Rai groaned.

We are heading towards the amphitheatre . Ala una, and the sun is scorching. There’s a mental health seminar. Every student, are required to attend, or else, mahihirapan kang magpapirma ng clearance sa guidance office. One week yata 'to tapos by schedule ang bawat klase. Of course, the sitting capacity is not enough for the whole campus population.

The heck. This is not good, we have no choice but to attend.

As we entered the amphitheatre, noises will welcome you. Rai and I surveyed the view to look for our classmates so that we can sign on the attendance sheet. The sitting capacity is 600, and that’s enough to hold six sections or classes. Students wearing different lanyards started to invade the whole place.

Ang hirap tuloy mahanap ng mga kaklase namin. Ang tagal ng serving ng lunch sa canteen dapat kanina pa kami. I checked our group chat and found out that my classmates, from our major subjects or Mechanical Engineering of course, are sitting near the stage. Right side.

“Ayun pala sila eh brad!” Turo ni Rai at naglakad na kami papunta roon.

Oh.

There’s no vacant seat left? Cruel. Bakit hindi nila kami pinag-save.

“Andiyan crush ni Lani oh! Taga-CBA!”

Tili ng isa kong kaklaseng babae na may makapal na make up. Absentmindedly,  I looked at the direction where most of my girl classmates are staring at.

“Kasabay natin mga taga-CBA?” I asked Rai. Akala ko mga taga-architecture mga makakasabay namin.

“Oo brad. 'Yan na oh dami nila papasok. Puro chix mga taga-tourism. Tames!” He formed a letter 'o', with his two hands putting it near his eyes, acting like it’s a binocular.

We have to find a seat after writing our names and signature on the attendance sheet.

“Ayon do'n tayo! May maganda roon!” Binatak ni Rai ang braso ko at napilitan akong maglakad. Nakarating kami sa likurang bahagi kung saan malayo sa stage, pero tanaw na tanaw naman ang kabuuan nito.

“Miss, may nakaupo rito?” Rai asked the girl with a curly long brown hair, wearing an HRM uniform.

“Umm, sa tabi ko? Meron 'yong frenny ko.” She gave us a small smile.

There are four vacant seats here. Gusto lang talaga mapalapit ni Rai doon sa babae. What a lame trick.

“Can we seat here?” I pointed my hand on the two empty seats. Katabi niya rin ay bakanteng upuan. But she said it herself may nakaupo raw roon.

“Sige lang upo na kayo Vaughn hihi.” Pagtango nito. She knows my name? How.

“Maraming, maraming, maraming, salamat ate!” Rai chattered. And we both rested our butts on the soft maroon theater chairs. It’s relaxing. Malakas din ang aircon. Maingay nga lang talaga.

“Tol pinopormahan mo ba 'yon? Bakit alam pangalan mo? Asus, inagawan mo pa ako.” Pabirong bulong ni Rai sa akin.

Lumingon na lang ako sa harap nang magsalita 'yong isang prof namin dati sa NSTP. His annoying voice  echoed in the theater.

“Good afternoon Aurollians!” He greeted while smiling widely. That’s really corny. Calling us 'Aurollians' because we are studying here in Aurollio Polytechnic University.

“Candary naka-pirma ka na sa attendance?” A voice from the back asked. Wait? Candary’s here? Oh. Bakit ako magtataka eh she’s from College of Business and Accountancy.

“Owyes! Kanina pa. Nag-CR lang ako.” And her voice is coming from my side. Nilingon ko ito at siya nga ang nagmamay-ari ng seat na bakante kanina. Magkatabi kami ngayon.

“Teffy 'yong cellphone ko?” Iniabot ito ng babaeng Teffy ang pangalan. Kaya pala alam niya pangalan ko. A close friend of her huh? Naikwento niya ako? Sakto namang pagkakuha niya rito ay ang pagdako ng atensyon niya sa nagsasalita.

“Vaughn! Huy ikaw pala 'yan!” She beamed. Okay, so Ezplasa s**t used to state the obvious okay, okay.  Nakatitig pala ako sa kanya crap! She’s in a messy bun. Suits her small face.

“It ain’t me.” I sarcastically said.

Narinig ko ang paghagikgik nung Teffy. Si Rai naman naglalaro na naman sa cellphone niya at wala na namang pakialam sa paligid niya.

“Aish! Pilosopo.” Candary rolled her eyes.

“Nakikinig ba kayo riyan sa likod hah?” Looks like iritado na ang prof na siyang speaker ngayon. Nanahimik tuloy bigla ang lahat. Sa takot na makuhanan ng ID. Yep, that’s the punishment. You can’t enter the school without tapping your ID on the system.

“Vaughn, may kwento ako sa 'yo mamaya pagtapos ng Big History class.” Bulong ni Candary na nagtakip pa ng kamay. Tumango ako at kunwaring nakikinig sa nagsasalita sa harap. This is absolutely boring.

Nasa kalagitnaan na kami ng seminar nang mapansin kong biglang napahinto sa pagsasalita 'yong babaeng prof na instructor mula sa College of Arts and Sciences.

Wait...

Not just she stopped from speaking but also from moving!

Wha-what happened? I waited for her colleagues to assist her. Baka mamaya na paralyzed? Hawak niya ang mic sa kanang kamay, habang ang kaliwa niyang kamay ay nasa baywang niya. I blinked twice, until I realized that she’s literally not moving!

Not just her, but the whole persons on the stage! The four of them. The three are sitting on monoblock chairs.

I immediately looked at Rai to show him what’s happening.

My heart immediately goes in palpitation when I realized the he's frozen too! Hindi siya gumagalaw at hawak lang ang cellphone gamit ang dalawang kamay. Dilat ang mga mata niya mukhang titig na titig dito.

Okay this is creepy. I breathed deeply, regaining calmness.

“Huy Teffy! Anong nangyayari sa 'yo!” Candary’s voice was in panic. I looked at her and saw that her friend isn’t moving too.

Actually all of them are at rest! Except the two of us…

Except me and Candary.

What about it now? Who the hell from beyond will show his face?

Napatigil si Candary sa pagtapik sa kaibigan niya nang marinig na mag-echo ang microphone. Kapwa kami napalingon sa stage.

“Hey there Ezplasa shit.” The guy in black long sleeves, black jeans, and old school vans shoes, spoke with a mic. He have a tousled hair like me…

Well of course I am him.

Okay here we are again. I caressed my temple and stood up. Napatayo rin si Candary nang mapagtantong hindi lang si Vaughn from Foxtrot ang nandito kundi pati si Candary! Nakatayo sa tabi ko—the Vaughn from the future.

Nagkatinginan kaming dalawa ng kasama ko. It’s like we are telepathically asking if this is really happening now.

And then my jaw almost dropped. Hi-hindi ko naman alam na posibleng dalawa silang magpakita. Ngayon, dito sa amphitheatre.

“Stay there folks, kami na ang lalapit.” The man from Foxtrot annunciated, still on the mic.