["PLAY THE KING" IS ACT TWO OF THE "PLAY" SERIES. PLEASE READ "PLAY THE QUEEN" FIRST.]
It's been four months since Priam Torres, the once unpopular president of the Elysian University Student Council, assumed office. Thanks to his chief-of-staff Cas...
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CASTIEL
SAYING GOODBYE was hard for most. Me? I found it hard sometimes. It depended on the person. It depended on my emotional connection with said person.
Valeria leaving the council was not in my plan, nor did I foresee it happening in the future. If I could have it my way, I did not want her to leave. She was one of the four legs of the coveted throne that our council was sitting on. But she had made her own choice. I would have wanted for her to stay than me. She played an integral part of our triumph in the last student council election. She would play an integral part in the next one.
"It is with heavy heart that I accept your resignation," Priam said after reading the letter that Val had submitted a day after her announcement. His dry lips curled into a frown. "I should be the one taking responsibility, not you."
"It's okay, Priam." Val shook her head. "Masaya na akong malaman na willing kang akuin ang responsabilidad sa nangyari. Pero hindi kakayanin ng konsensiya ko kung hahayaan kitang gawin 'yon. As the vice president and the more senior between me and Cas who knew and executed the plan, I had to take the blame."
There was nothing I could say or do but admire her sense of accountability. She could have easily survived the whole ordeal by pinning the blame on me, by throwing me under the bus with my permission. But she chose not to. She sincerely believed that she made the right move by stepping forward. There could have been another way to sort this out, but I did not want to undermine this moment and take it away from her.
"Thank you for your service, Val." Priam gave her a tight embrace. Ilang segundo ring nagtagal ang yakap nila sa isa't isa. They had been partners in running the student government for five months. It would not be that easy for each other to part.
"Thank you for trusting me, Priam," Val's eyes began to well up with tears. She snifled as she wiped them off with her handkerchief. "And thank you for letting me do this."
In retrospect, her sacrifice would benefit us better than mine. I was just a lowly chief-of-staff appointed—not elected—to this position. If someone were to take responsibility, it must be one of the people who won and earned the trust of the student body. Also, Val's argument about her holding a higher office than me made some sense. Among those who knew about the incident, the one with the highest ranking position must be held accountable. That happened to be her.
"Val," I called her name softly as I moved closer for a hug. My right hand patted her back. "I'm sorry that you have to do this. I wish things didn't have to come to this point."
She hugged me back and leaned close to my ear. "Just make sure that my sacrifice won't be in vain. From now on, you must protect Priam at all costs, the same way that I did yesterday."
"Don't worry, I will try."
After me, she started hugging the rest of the council. First was Sabrina who got teary-eyed. They were not that close, but they worked closely together. Next was Tabitha who kept a straight face. Ayaw man niyang ipahalata, alam kong nalulungkot siya sa pamamaalam ng kasama namin. Last was Rowan who frowned before embracing her. He whispered some unintelligible words before letting go.
